Reflection
by Gaia Lao
Summary: *COMPLETE* After the battle with Malomyotismon, Ken has time to reflect on his current situation. How does he deal with it? Two words: not well.....(Kenlei, out-takes, aka my sorry excuse for reposting this, are up)
1. Chapter 1 :(

~Reflection~

Disclaimer: Do I even have to say it? (Gwen: Say it!) I don't own Digimon. (Gaia: *glares at Gwen* There! Happy?!)

A/N: Hi people, here's my first Digimon fic ever and the first fic I ever posted publicly, so go easy on me. I've only been exposed to the dub eppies (save for three Japanese episodes that I downloaded off the net) and even those have been few and far between.

Ok, I'll shut up now.

***

Chapter 1

Indigo eyes stared back at indigo.

Frown met frown.

After a few long minutes, Ken Ichijouji tore his gaze away from the bathroom mirror and stared down at his open hands. Sure these were the same hands that had held up a D-3 along with the rest of the Digidestined during the final battle with Malomyotismon, but not long before that, they had held the whip that enslaved and beat thousands of innocent digimon. Despite their clean, white appearance, they were no longer the pure hands of the boy that used to blow bubbles with his brother on their balcony; they were nothing more than the blood-stained hands of the—

__

'Digimon Emperor'

Ken jerked his head up, looking around frantically. He could have sworn he'd heard a sinister voice addressing him by his former title. Seeing no one else around besides himself, he concluded that it was just his imagination and turned his head forward again. 

Indigo eyes stared back at indigo.

Deep frown met deep frown.

Ken was lost in his thoughts once more when suddenly, there was a knock at the bathroom door. The dark-haired boy nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Ken, honey, is everything all right? You've been in there for almost half an hour. Do you need a laxative?" asked his mother worriedly.

Ken watched as the face in the mirror copied the disgusted look his face had twisted into.

"N-no, thanks, Mama," nervously replied her son. "I'm almost done." He paused for a few seconds to think up an excuse. "Brushing and flossing my teeth extra carefully take a long time, you know."

"Oh, then take all the time you need." Ken could just imagine how bright his mom's face had lit up at this point. Soon after, he could hear her footsteps growing fainter as she left him alone, saying to herself, "My little boy is concerned about his hygiene. I'm so proud! Maybe he'll become a dentist one day, or maybe a doctor…" 

Sighing, Ken unlocked the bathroom door, turned off the lights, and headed for his room. No sooner had he opened his bedroom door a crack than a green, caterpillar-like creature jumped onto his leg.

"Ken! What took you so long? I was starting to get worried," cried the rookie-level digimon.

"Wormmon, I wasn't even gone for an hour," Ken said calmly, reaching down to pick up his anxious friend. He then closed the door shut behind him, an old precaution that he didn't bother to stop taking, even after he had told his parents about the partner digimon he kept in his room. 

"Yeah, I know, but it seemed like forever!" Wormmon started squirming in the Digidestined of Kindness' arms. Ken couldn't help but smile and hug him tightly. As the boy walked over to his computer and reached for his mouse, the little digimon continued to whine, "And don't forget that you have school tomorrow. You need all the rest you can get."

"Okay, 'Mom,' I'm going to bed right now," Ken muttered, shutting down his computer and putting Wormmon on the bed. After turning off the lights, he climbed up the ladder to his bed and snuggled his partner digimon, who was already half-asleep. 

Pulling the covers over the both of them, Ken whispered, "Good night, Wormmon."

"Good night, Ken," he murmured drowsily. 

'_Good night, Digimon Emperor.'_

***

Gaia: Yeah, I admit that was kind of boring for a first chapter. *kicks G awake* But what can you expect from me?

G: Well at least I'm not the one who read one too many of Athena's and Shimegami Argonaut's fics and then decided to go out on a whim and become an author on FFN.

Gaia: *blushes profusely and picks up G by the collar of her shirt* (singing) The window, the window, the second story window. With a heave and a ho and a mighty throw, she threw her out the window *drags G over to the window and throws her out* Well, anyway, can someone please write a review for what little I have so far. My muses aren't giving me much encouragement. *glares at Gwen*

Gwen: What? I'm just the grammar check here!

Gaia: *glares at G who just walked in with a banana peel on her head and spilling garbage all over the place*

G: Don't look at me. I'm just a split personality of yours. *faces the readers* Doesn't that disturb anyone else?


	2. Chapter 2 :'-(

Disclaimer: Digimon belongs to someone else, not me

~Reflection~

Disclaimer: Digimon belongs to someone else, not me.

Gaia: YES!!! Athena reviewed my story! I can die happy now. Anyway, let's see if I can make this chapter any better. 

G: (mumbling sarcastically) Good luck.

Gaia: *throws G out the window again* By the way, thanks to all the people who reviewed my story.

***

Chapter 2

A gentle breeze began to stir the delicate trees, showering the streets in a wave of cherry blossoms. All around people were chatting lightly as they walked along the busy streets of Tamachi. Glad to be set free from the prison they called school, hordes of children ran up and down the sidewalks, some chasing after their friends, others just eager to get home. Everyone under the afternoon sun seemed to be bright and cheerful…

…that is, except one.

Head hung low, Ken numbly dragged himself home from school. As he walked up the endless flights of stairs to his apartment, he pulled out his D-terminal and typed out a quick message.

__

Hi guys, 

Sorry I can't join you today in the Digital World. I'm not feeling too well. Hope to see you tomorrow.

Ken

Shakily, the dark-haired boy sent the message to his Digidestined friends, whom he had agreed to meet after school today to have some fun in the Digital World. He didn't like having to do this, especially since his excuse was only half true, but he knew that he didn't deserve to have some leisure time, not after what had happened to him today at school.

He finally looked down at the paper that he had absentmindedly clutched in his hand ever since he left Tamachi Elementary.

D

Ken Ichijouji, the famous boy genius, had received a D on his last history exam. Not only that, but his teacher was the type that returns tests **and** publicly posts the scores, so by now the entire school had heard of the boy's failure to perform up to his usual A+ standards. 

He could still hear the shocked whispers of his classmates.

__

"Ken got a D! Man, and I thought I was dumb. At least I managed to get a C+."

"What happened to him? Did his brain explode or something?"

"I heard that he's been like this ever since he started hanging out with those kids in Odaiba."

"Looks like he's nothing more than a burnt-out former genius now."

Just remembering those comments made him suddenly grow irritated, but more at himself than anyone else.

By this time, Ken had unlocked the door to his apartment and was shutting it a little too loudly. 

"Ken, dear, is that you?" his mother called from the kitchen. "I thought you were going to meet your friends in Odaiba today."

Taking off his shoes, Ken replied in as calm a tone as he could muster, "Yeah, I was, but I'm not feeling too well." Without even looking up, he made his way as quickly as he could towards his room.

"Are you sure you don't need a--?"

"No, Mom, I don't need one," he promptly interrupted her, recalling their _pleasant_ conversation the previous night. Still upset about his performance, he thought, 'This never would have happened back when I was the—'

__

'Digimon Emperor' 

Ken froze in his tracks. He had just been passing by the bathroom when all of a sudden he heard that menacing voice again. Ken flipped on the lights in the bathroom and peered around warily, frustration over his failure that day momentarily gone.

Indigo eyes stared at indigo.

Deeper frown met deeper frown.

Ken's searching gaze didn't land on a single soul, save for his reflection in the mirror. Scolding himself for jumping at shadows, Ken now turned his mind to the matter at hand: how to break the bad news to his parents.

Turning off the bathroom lights, he resumed his trek to his room. 

As soon as he entered the dimly lit bedroom, he laid his bag gently down on the floor and lifted out a sleeping Wormmon. The green digimon let out a yawn and drowsily peered around.

"Ken, what are we doing here? Did you forget something?" inquired Wormmon. Ken put his digimon partner on the floor and walked slowly over to his desk. 

Sighing, he answered, "No, it's just that I don't feel like joining the others today, that's all." Ken shoved the accursed test underneath a pile of papers that were neatly stacked in a corner of the desk, as if trying to bury his mark of shame. 

Even from his position on the floor, Wormmon could clearly see the pain written all over Ken's face. "Uh, oh. What happened today?" he asked. Unable to do anything else in Ken's bookbag, Wormmon had slept through the entire incident.

Ken didn't say anything as he climbed the ladder to his bed and lay down. Not satisfied with the boy's silence, Wormmon scooted over to the base of the ladder and repeated his question. 

Finally, after a long pause, Ken muttered, "Something I'd rather not talk about right now." He then sat up and leaned over to face the bug digimon, whose worried blue eyes looked up into his sad indigo eyes. "Wormmon, I need some time to think. Could you please leave me alone for a while?" 

Despondently, Wormmon choked out an "All right, Ken" before crawling under his partner's desk to weep.

It pained Ken as deeply as an icicle through the heart would to do this to his best friend, but he really needed some time alone to sort things out. He gently closed his eyes. The last thought that ran through his mind before he drifted off to sleep was, 'I wonder how I would handle this if I were the Digimon Emperor.'

__

'You wouldn't have to, young Emperor. You wouldn't have to.'

***

Gaia: Oooo, who is this mysterious voice? Find out next time on Digimon: Digita—OUCH! All right, who hit me?!

G: *quickly puts mallet in Gwen's hands and looks away, whistling*

Gaia: You've got a lot of nerve, Grammar Queen. *grabs Gwen by the collar of her shirt and drags her over to the window*

Gwen: Wait! It wasn't meeeeee…….! *gets thrown out the window*

Gaia: *dusts off hands* (mumbling) Disobedient muses.

G: Heh heh heh.


	3. Chapter 3 :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, so don't sue

~Reflection~

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, so don't sue. You wouldn't get any money from me anyway. (G: What about that $20 stashed under your--? *gets duct tape slapped over her mouth*)

G: *rips off tape* YEEEOUCH!!! Man, if you're going to treat us that badly, maybe you should just get new muses. How about Ken, since you like him so much?

Gaia: *whips out mallet and bops G over the head with it* I would, but he's been too many other authors' muse—not to mention that most of those authors have traumatized Ken beyond comprehension. *points to a huddled up Ken shaking in a nearby tree* 

G: Oh. (mumbling) D'oh!

***

Chapter 3

The first thing that Ken noticed was that he was surrounded by darkness—a darkness so thick he could probably cut it with a knife. That is, if he could find a knife, or his hands for that matter…

'Where am I?' he thought to himself.

__

'I'm surprised that you haven't figured that out by now. Oh, that's right…you aren't the genius Digimon Emperor anymore.'

"Who's there?" Ken called. 'That voice—it's the same one I keep hearing. I knew I wasn't imagining things! But it sounds so familiar; it's as if I've heard it before yesterday,' the Digidestined of Kindness pondered.

__

'I should sound familiar. You've known me for quite some time.'

"You can read my thoughts?" Ken asked in surprise, just noticing this.

_'My, don't we catch on quickly?'_ The voice dripped with sarcasm. 

Ken could feel anger welling up inside of him, but he did his best to suppress it and merely snarled into the blackness, "Who are you and what do you want?" 

__

'Oh, you'll see soon enough.' The voice said slyly._ 'However, you wouldn't even have to ask had you the cleverness of the Digimon Emperor…or at least the intelligence of your brother, Sam."_

That was the last straw; Ken had heard enough from whoever this guy was. "Shut up! Don't you dare drag Sam into this!"

__

'Why not? Don't like the sound of your brother's name? You know, Sam_ was the true genius; he didn't need a Dark Spore to become smart. That's why your parents always loved him more than they did you.' _

"NO! That's not true!"

~~~

"Ken? Ken, wake up!" pleaded Wormmon, shaking the dark-haired boy. Seconds later, Ken sat bolt upright in his bed. He was astonished to find himself panting and drenched in sweat.

"Wormmon?" Ken managed to croak out of his surprisingly parched throat. He looked down into the two sky-blue eyes of the distressed digimon

"You were having a nightmare, Ken, and it isn't even night yet," Wormmon explained.

"What time is it?" Ken questioned, jumping down from his bed and looking out the sliding glass door.

"7:00"

"Already?" Ken watched the sun sink slowly into the horizon. "Shoot! And I was hoping I could get started early on my homework today." He abruptly turned away and quickly headed for his bookbag. 

Just as he reached down for it, he heard his mom's saccharine voice call out from the hallway, "Ken, dear, you have a visitor." 

"Darnnit!" he cursed to himself. Then out loud he called back, "I'll be out in a second."

Ken took his bookbag and put it down unceremoniously on his desk. Turning to leave, he asked the caterpillar-like digimon, "Wormmon, could you please boot up my computer for me while I step out for a minute?"

"Sure, Ken, anything for you!" Wormmon said as he crawled down the ladder to Ken's bed, glad that he had a chance to do something for his partner. 

Ken gave him a smile and a quick "Thanks" before disappearing out the door and hurrying down the hallway. As he neared the front door, he saw that his mom had left it open slightly, indicating that his visitor was probably still out there waiting for him. 

Ken threw open the door, a little more forcefully than he'd intended, and his indigo eyes rested on a pair of scarlet eyes framed by glasses. The boy gasped and inadvertently took a step backwards. 

"Yolei?! Wh-what are you doing here?"

The lavender-haired girl simply smiled as she stood there, holding a strange, pink paper bag in one hand.

"Hi Ken!" she greeted cheerfully. "I got your e-mail saying that you weren't feeling well, so I came over to see how you were doing."

"All the way from Odaiba? That was really nice of you, Yolei, but you shouldn't ha--"

"Here!" she cut him off, shoving the pink bag in his hands. "I saw this in the window of a store on my way here, and it was so pretty I couldn't help but buy it. And then I remembered that you were feeling sick, so I thought it might cheer you up."

While she told him this, Ken opened up the bag and pulled out an elaborately decorated silver mirror shaped like a horizontal oval and adorned with two smiling angels.

"And see," Yolei rambled on, "it has these two angels on the top that will always watch over you and be by your side every time you look in the mirror." She beamed at Ken, who simply stood there speechless.

Finally after a long pause, he managed to sputter out, "Th-thank you, Yolei. You really shouldn't have." He couldn't bear to look into her shining eyes, so instead he looked down at his shoes. "I don't deserve this."

Before he could make a move to give it back to her, she shoved his hands along with the mirror playfully into his chest and said, "Nonsense! For helping us save our world and the Digital World, you should get a medal or something." Looking at where her hands were and blushing slightly, she let go of his hands. "Besides, it didn't cost me much, and it was the least I could do for a hunk like you."

At Ken's shocked look, Yolei realized what she had said and turned even redder. "Oops! Did I just say that last part out loud?" she blurted. Laughing nervously with her hand behind her head, she said quickly, "Well, you're looking better already, so I should be going now."

As she turned to leave, Ken looked down into the mirror. 

Indigo eyes stared back at indigo.

Slight frown met slight frown.

Ken's face only took up half the mirror, leaving an empty space to the right of his reflection. He couldn't help but feel an incompleteness as he drew his attention to the vacant spot.

All of a sudden, without thinking, Ken yelled after her. "Yolei!"

The still-blushing girl, who was halfway to the elevator, halted in her tracks and slowly turned around at the sound of her name.

'What the heck am I doing?' Ken thought to himself. His mind racing, Ken frantically tried to think up an excuse for why he called out to her. "Uhm, it's kinda late…Do you want to stay and have dinner with us?"

Yolei instantly brightened at his invitation, and she had just opened up her mouth to accept when she suddenly remembered something. Ken saw her face visibly sadden.

"I'm sorry, Ken," she said apologetically, "but I promised my parents that I'd watch over the store tonight."

"Oh." Ken's face fell, too. "Well, then maybe some other time."

"Yeah, thanks anyway. Hey, I'll see you tomorrow after school, right?" she asked hopefully.

"Tomorrow…? Oh, yeah, of course." Ken remembered that they had all agreed last Sunday to play soccer tomorrow after school, just the six of them and their digimon. 

"Great! Hope you get better by then. Without you there, Davis is liable to go up against the rest of us by himself. You know how _modest_ he can be." She flashed him a playful smile, causing Ken to smile, too, in spite of himself. 

After a few minutes of them exchanging cheerful looks, Yolei called back to him, "See ya later then!" With that, she waved and dashed off happily down the hallway.

Ken watched until she disappeared into the elevator before closing the front door. He continued to smile as he strolled back to his room, even though he had yet to tell his parents about his barely passing test.

***

G: *rereads middle of chapter and blinks*What was with all the euphemisms back there? 

Gaia: Huh?

G: *points to where Ken is supposed to curse because he isn't given a chance to do his homework* Why the _heck_ didn't you let Ken cuss? Wait a minute, why the _heck_ can't I cuss?!?

Gaia: *shrugs and points over her shoulder* So she's a combination grammar check and censor. There's not much I can do about it.

G: *glares at Gwen* What the _freak_ is wrong with letting the _gosh darn_ characters cuss?

Gwen: *blinks* It's not nice.

G: *face faults*

A/N: But seriously, I absolutely refuse to cuss, though I do tolerate it when other people cuss and sometimes get a kick out of it. Don't like? Then don't read. 


	4. Chapter 4 :-\

~Reflection~

Disclaimer: There are just so many ways you can say "Digimon is not freakin' mine!!!"

A/N: I decided to put whatever the "voice" says in **bold** letters from now on instead of in _italics_ like I have so far. _Italics_ will now be used to denote quotes said in the past. (You'll see what I mean.) This wasn't a problem before, but since I have the voice and a past quote in the same chapter, I needed something to differentiate the two. But I'm sure you readers are all smart enough to figure that out without this stupid note. (G: If they're so smart, why are they reading your story? *gets bopped on the head with a mallet*) Ahem, I'll just be quiet now. (By the way, sorry if there's too much talking in this chapter. *gets icy glares from readers who want her to shut up and get on with the story* Okay, now I'll be quiet.) 

***

Chapter 4

Fingers flying faster than light itself, Ken furiously typed out the last page of his homework and used his mouse to click none-too-gently on the "print" button. It was painfully obvious that he was no longer in a good mood.

Earlier at dinner he had meekly showed his parents his latest failure. Even though they hadn't yell at him for his low mark, but rather had tried to console him and encourage him to do better, he could still detect the disappointment in their voices and their eyes. He knew exactly what they had been thinking: 'This had never happened to Sam; what's wrong with Ken?' 

The dark-haired boy couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of envy that his brother had been a natural genius--not like him, an ordinary kid who had to rely on a measly little spore for his special abilities.

Restless, Ken stole a quick glance at the clock before standing up to glare impatiently at his printer. 

12:00 A. M.

As soon as he had excused himself from the dinner table, Ken had immediately locked himself up in his room and started his homework. Ever since then, he hadn't stopped working, not even to answer Wormmon's anxious questions.

Maybe it was because he knew that this was what Sam would have done, or maybe it was because he felt guilty about disappointing his parents like he did, but whatever the reason, Ken had tried to finish all of his homework as quickly and accurately as possible, even the assignments due next week.

"Ken?" timidly asked a small voice beside him.

"What?!" he snapped and glowered at the bug-like digimon.

Wormmon shut his mandibles and cowered back around the side of the desk in fear. At the sight of his digimon partner's terrified retreat, Ken's face softened, and he tried his best to calm down.

"I'm sorry, Wormmon," Ken soothed his digimon, "I've just been under a lot of stress lately, that's all."

"I understand, Ken. It must be hard for you to perform at your best now that the Dark Spore's been deactivated."

Ken sighed. "Yeah, especially when some people still expect you to be someone else." 

As he roughly yanked the papers off his printer tray and stuffed them in a folder in his bookbag, he happened to spy the present Yolei had given him lying on the floor next to his desk. Ken gingerly picked up the paper bag and pulled out the sparkling, silver mirror. Sitting back down in his chair, he set the mirror on top of the pile of papers in the corner of his desk.

_"And see,"_ she had said, _"it has these two angels on the top that will always watch over you and be by your side every time you look in the mirror."_

"But at least some people still care about the real me…" Ken murmured.

"What did you say, Ken?" piped up Wormmon.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing, Wormmon," the indigo-haired boy said, redirecting his attention towards the rookie digimon. "Better go on to bed without me for now. I still need to study."

"Are you sure you'll be all right? It's getting late, and you could use a good night's rest."

"Don't worry about me. I already had a nap today, remember?" Ken paused before solemnly stating, "I really need to make up for all the time I lost this afternoon." 

Seeing that there was no changing his mind on the subject, Wormmon just nodded. "Okay, Ken, if that's what you want." Reluctantly, he crawled up to Ken's bed and burrowed under the covers. 

Ken sighed again as he pulled out his history book. 'I'm sorry, Wormmon,' he thought. 'I don't like shutting you out like this anymore than you do, but for some reason I feel as if I need to distance myself from you for a while.'

In no time, Ken could hear his partner's deep breathing, indicating that the digimon had fallen asleep. He was just about to turn to the next chapter in his book when something in Yolei's mirror caught his eye. 

Indigo eyes and shaded indigo eyes stared back at indigo.

Two frowns met frown.

Ken's eyes were now fully fixated on the mirror, and he could feel his heart rate jump to ten beats a second. 

Before him were two reflections of himself: on the left, the reflection that he saw everyday in the bathroom mirror and right beside it, his image as the Digimon Emperor.

Ken opened his mouth slightly in silent horror. The face on the left mimicked the expression, but the face on right simply twisted his mouth into a casual smirk.

Suddenly thinking of something, Ken whirled his head around to look over his right shoulder…

…but was only greeted with the sight of his dark, empty room. 

The Digidestined of Kindness' eyes widened in shock, and he could feel his blood run cold as he stiffly turned his head back around to face the mirror. 

This time when he looked into it, he saw something strange happen.

His two reflections began to move towards each other, slowly but surely. At first the images overlapped like two transparent pictures being laid on top of each other, but in the end the face of the Digimon Emperor eclipsed his own reflection.

The image of the evil tyrant retained the smirk on his face as he said snidely, **"Remember me now, Emperor?"**

Ken flinched. 'That voice!' he mentally exclaimed. It was the same one that had been plaguing him since yesterday. Now Ken realized why it sounded so familiar; it was almost identical to voice he'd used when he was the Digimon Emperor, only somehow this one sounded a bit more sinister than his had been.

"Are you," Ken tentatively asked, "me, or at least the part of me that's the Digimon Emperor?"

The face in the mirror made a movement as if to shrug. **"Close enough, considering that you're no Sam." **

Ken felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristle at this. 

**"Actually,"** the reflection continued, **"I'm what you would consider the dark side of you—the side that took over when you turned into the Digimon Emperor, the side that made you the unstoppable evil force that you were, the side that you've been trying to bury ever since our preposterous defeat in that accursed desert!"**

Letting this revelation sink in, Ken sat there in silence. Finally after a few minutes, he croaked out hoarsely, "But I thought I had gotten rid of you back when I opened up the Dark Gate."

**"Gotten rid of me?"** scoffed the image, **"Don't make me giggle, Emperor boy. You merely succeeded in imprisoning me deep within yourself." **

Ken felt his heart sink. 'Great,' he thought sarcastically, 'I didn't destroy this guy; I just made him feel a whole lot better by imprisoning him all this time…Imprisoning him…? Wait a minute…' Then aloud Ken asked suspiciously, "If I had imprisoned you, how can you haunt me now?"

The face in the mirror hung his head and slowly shook it as if in disappointment. **"Oh, Emperor, Emperor, Emperor."**

"Stop calling me that! I'm no longer the Digimon Emperor; I'm Ken Ichijouji!"

**"Fine then, _Ken_."** The boy in question started at the way his dark side coldly said his name. **"Have you perhaps been feeling a little bit of guilt lately? Or maybe felt a touch of regret or despair? Could you have possibly been stirred to anger or jealousy recently?"** the image of the Digimon Emperor asked insinuatingly.

Those questions hit Ken like a thunderbolt. It was true. He had felt all of those emotions and in the last two days in fact. Trying not to let his dark side detect the apprehension he felt, Ken inquired in as calm a voice as he could manage, "So what if I have?"

**"Foolish boy! Do I have to spell it out for you?"** the image spat. Then, apparently attempting to keep his cool as well, he began to speak to Ken as if to a child. **"All of those are dark feelings. I am a dark being; I feed off of dark feelings, just like the Dark Spore did when you were younger. Therefore, I have gotten much stronger in the past few days and broken out of the blasted tomb you stuck me in!"** he ended with a snarl.

Seeing Ken's crestfallen expression, the dark entity smiled wickedly and decided to continue to rub it in. **"Guilt wasn't that hard to elicit from you; you've never really forgiven yourself for what you've done. As for the others…well, let's just say I had to take advantage of _someone's _destitute state in order to provoke _him_ into the rest."**

Ken had heard enough from this guy. Right about now he would do anything to shut him up. "So what do I have to get rid of you for good? Be bright and happy for the rest of my life?"

The image snorted. **"Oh, please, as if it would be that easy to put me out of commission. No, no, if you want me gone so badly, you're going to have to play by my rules."**

Ken raised an eyebrow at his reflection's sudden demand. "And if I don't?"

The Emperor's familiar smirk reappeared in the mirror. **"Then maybe one day when you aren't careful, I may take over your entire body once again and give that traitorous little worm the excruciating death he deserves. And if he dies in the real world, you know what might happen."**

Indeed, Ken did know what could happen. Kari had once told him about her friend Wizardmon, who had died in the real world and was turned into a ghost instead of being reconfigured like the digimon that died in the Digital World were.

Clenching his fists tightly enough to draw blood, Ken growled at the face in the mirror, "Fine, I'll play your little game, but promise to leave Wormmon out of this." 

The Emperor's smirk widened into a devilish smile. **"Of course."**

"Okay, so what I have to do?" Ken asked warily.

**"Go to the Digital World, alone. Find the place in the desert where our base crashed. There's something there I want to show you."**

Grumbling, Ken pulled out his D-3 and activated the Digiport program on his computer. "I hope I'm not going to regret this," he muttered to himself, raising the black digivice to the screen. "Digiport open!"

In a blinding flash of white light, he was gone, as was the reflection in the mirror.

**'Ha ha ha, that's it my little fly of a Digimon Emperor; walk into my spider's web. Only a few more dark emotions to go, and you will be all mine.'**

***

Gaia: Egads, these chapters are getting longer and longer. 

Gwen: Isn't that a good thing?

G: No, it means that she won't be able to get them out soon enough for the few readers that she has.

Gaia: (mumbling to herself) Let's see, maybe I should shorten the next chapter a bit….*G's comment sinks in* (aloud) Hey, I resent that last remark.

G: *ignoring her* And it means more work for us.

Gwen: Oh, I see.

Gaia: *picks up G by the collar of her shirt and throws her out the window* (grumbling) Insolent, lazy muses.


	5. Chapter 5 :-o

~Reflection~

~Reflection~

Disclaimer: Digimon belongs to some rich people who don't want to adopt me for some reason. *gives muses a cold look*

Gaia: Sorry to have to make this chapter shorter everyone. My muses are trying to give me a few pointers in "Make the Readers Want More 101."

G: Lesson 1: cut off your story in the right places.

Gwen: That way, your chapters will be short enough to give us less work.

G: *elbows Gwen in stomach*

Gwen: Ouch! (quickly) What I meant to say was the chapters will be short enough to make the readers want more. *nervously laughs*

Gaia: *light bulb goes off in head* Wait a sec…You two wouldn't happen to be making me cut my chapters short so that you'd have less work?

G: *waves hands frantically in front of herself* It's not what you think!

Gwen: Um, I'm just the grammar check?

Gaia: *picks up both muses and tosses them out the window* Well, nothing I can do about the length of the chapter now 'cause I already chopped this chapter into Chapters 5 and 6. But don't worry, Chapter 7 will be extra long to punish my muses. *glares at both muses who stumble in through the door covered with trash*

G: Grrr…(mumbling angrily) That's only because for that chapter you're going to jack some stuff from episode-- *gets picked up and pitched out the window again before she can finish*

Gaia: Blabbermouth. *dusts off hands and looks hard at Gwen* You have anything you want to contribute, Grammar Queen?

Gwen: *meekly* Nope.

Gaia: *pats Gwen on the head* Good muse. 

***

Chapter 5

Save for a few partying teenagers and the adults working the night shift, silence reigned over the district of Odaiba. Since the next day would be a school day, all young children were supposed to be in their beds by now. Supposed to be, that is…

It was 1:00 in the morning; a pitch-black night dotted with millions of shimmering lights covered the sky, yet one window in a certain apartment building remained lit when it wasn't supposed to be.

Yolei Inoue's fingers danced lightly over the keys of her keyboard, deftly ending a chat session with one of her friends from the Computer Club. Closing the various windows on her computer screen and disconnecting herself from the Internet, she was just about to shut down her computer for the night when she heard a faint bleeping at her side.

After a few minutes of searching, she found the source of the sound inside her backpack. Curious as to who would be sending her e-mail at this time of night, she flipped open her gray D-terminal and brought up the message onto the screen.

__

Davis, Yolei, Cody, T. K., Kari, anyone!

Ken's missing! I woke up a few seconds ago, and he was gone. I think he went to the Digital World because the Digiport program is still on his computer. Can one of you please go and find him for me? You know I would do it myself and not disturb you if I could, but I can't open the Digital Gate without someone with a D-3. Please, anybody? Ken could be in danger.

Wormmon 

This news shocked Yolei, but she didn't waste any time. Hurriedly she typed out a response and sent it to Wormmon and the others.

__

Hi all,

Don't worry; I'll get on it, everyone. Just sit back and get your beauty sleep. That means you, too, Wormmon. I'll find Ken for you, wait and see. Talk to ya later today.

Yolei

P. S. If you guys don't see me at school, can someone please come and rescue me? 

"Come on, Hawkmon! Let's go," Yolei ordered. Then, pulling out her D-3 and stuffing her D-terminal in her pocket, she started up the Digiport program on her computer.

When she didn't hear her partner digimon's usual enthusiastic affirmation, she turned to glance at her bed—and nearly face-vaulted. 

"Hawkmon!" she whined.

On her bed lay Hawkmon, snoring and fast asleep. 

"Oh, yeah, that's right," Yolei said, scratching the back of her head. "I forgot that I'd told him to go to bed half an hour ago. He must have just fallen asleep. I really don't want to wake him up after he's stayed up this late…" After mulling over it for a few seconds, she declared more lightheartedly, "No problem! I can do this by myself." 

Yolei turned back to her computer, D-3 raised in her outstretched arm. "Digiport open!" she called.

In a bright flash of light that amazingly didn't disturb the bird digimon sleeping soundly on the bed, Yolei was instantly transported to the Digital World.

~~~

The wind shrieked and howled as it blew across the seemingly endless desert. Sharp grains of sand were upturned and flew in every direction, making it impossible to see clearly in the eerie moonlight. Night's frigid, ebony blanket had long ago descended over the blazing hot region and turned it into a freezing cold wasteland.

"If Ken isn't dead by now, I'll kill him myself for making me come here at this time of night!" Yolei yelled to herself as she shielded her eyes from the biting wind and looked down at her D-3 for the third time in two minutes. 'Maybe I _should_ have waken up Hawkmon and brought him along…'

Immediately upon entering the Digital World, she had activated her D-3 and located a lone dot (besides the one representing her) moving towards this area. She didn't need Izzy's brain to deduce that this blip was most likely Ken, so she had instantly raced over to intercept it.

"He should be just a little farther…At least he's stopped moving now." She continued to trudge tediously over the desert's dunes, and soon she managed to make out the dark silhouette of a person in the distance standing near what looked like a mountain of rubble. 

"KEN!" she called as loudly as she could to him. Apparently he didn't hear her for the figure remained still.

Yolei took a step forward and was about to make her way towards him when she saw something that made her freeze in her tracks.

The shadowy figure had suddenly turned and fled in the opposite direction, and as he did, Yolei could have sworn she saw the outline of a very familiar two-pronged cape billowing out behind him.

"It can't be!" she gasped, for a moment forgetting the cold and the wind buffeting her body with sand.

She squinted and tried to make sure that she wasn't seeing things, but it wasn't long before the retreating figure disappeared from view.

"WAIT! Ken, is that you?!" Yolei shouted, but her voice was lost to the wind. Finding that this wasn't working, she began to sprint as best she could after him.

The lavender-haired girl looked down at her D-3 again and saw that no matter how fast she ran, the distance between her and the second dot was increasing.

Still, Yolei pressed onward, and not long after, she made it to the edge of the desert. Although her entire body ached from running across the stormy wasteland, she stepped up her pace and continued to track him with her D-3.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the blip stopped. However, Yolei didn't have time to breathe a sigh of relief because seconds later, it disappeared from her screen.

'That could only mean that he's left the Digital World,' Yolei pondered. 'I hope I can get there before he decides to close the Digital Gate.'

Her eyes glued to the spot where the dot had disappeared on her D-3, Yolei kept on running, despite the protesting from her exhausted legs.

Once the dot representing her had gotten near enough to the place where the second dot had vanished, she looked up and instantly spotted a T. V. with an active Digiport still on its screen.

"Now, let's see if it was really you I saw out there, Ken," Yolei panted to herself. She continued jogging at full tilt as she held out her D-3 in front of her and yelled, "Here goes nothing! Digiport open!"

The dim plains surrounding the area were brilliantly lit for a moment as the helmeted girl disappeared mere centimeters away from the seemingly out-of-place television set.

Then, once again, all was dark and as it should be in the Digital World.

***

G: *attaches doggie treat to the end of a fishing line and throws it into a tree*

Gwen: *walks by and sees what she did* Uhm, G, what are you doing?

G: What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to lure Ken down here. *points to a shaking Ken curled up in the tree*

Gwen: I see…Why would you want to do that?

G: Duh! If we get Ken to be Gaia's muse, he'll take all the abuse instead of us.

Gwen: Isn't that a little mean?

G: Do you want to be thrown out the window again?

Gwen: *pauses to think and then calls into the tree* Here, Ken! Here, boy! We got some yummy treats down here for you! 


	6. Chapter 6 :-O

~~~Reflection~~~

~Reflection~

Disclaimer: *sigh* Digimon's not mine.

A/N: Okay, this one's short just like the last chapter, but don't worry, Chapter 7 will be one doozy to make up for it.

***

Chapter 6

The next thing Yolei knew, after being converted back to her normal self from digital data, was that she was flying through someone's computer and landing in an unceremonious heap on the floor.

"What the--? Yolei, is that you?" asked a familiar voice in surprise.

Head throbbing and muscles aching, Yolei nevertheless managed to scramble into a siting-up position and curiously searched the dimly lit room to see who had addressed her. It didn't take the girl long to find the source of the voice, but she immediately regretted it.

Not paying much attention to her surroundings, she had innocently glanced up behind her to find the hunk of her dreams looking down at her with concern…and dressed in nothing but his boxer shorts. 

Yolei's face instantly turned beet-red, and, covering her eyes with her hands, she quickly whipped her head away. "Oh my gosh! I am _so_ sorry, Ken!" she exclaimed. 

Panicky thoughts started to race through Yolei's head chaotically. 'How do I get myself into these things? I never thought that I would end up in his bedroom! What will Ken think of me now? I wasn't supposed to see him like this until our honeymoon!' 

The lavender-haired girl remained huddled up on the floor as Ken hurriedly put on his yellow pajamas and, after a few minutes, quietly approached the high-strung Digidestined of Love and Sincerity.

"Uhm, it's okay to look now, Yolei," said Ken gently, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder.

The girl in question peered behind her warily, making sure that Ken was fully clothed before sighing and dropping her hands to her side in shaky relief.

"Here." Ken extended his hand, offering to help her up. 

Yolei reached up cautiously, as if she were afraid her hand would burn off at his touch, but Ken took the half-proffered hand into his own and helped her get to her feet.

"So…uh," a slightly uneasy Ken began after he made sure that Yolei was steady on her legs, "what are you doing up this late?"

For a moment, the still pink-faced girl could only scratch the back of her head and look down at her shoes in embarrassment. "Oh, um…I, uh, I could ask you the same thing," Yolei flusteredly replied, unable to think of anything else to say at the moment.

Ken shifted from one foot to the other in nervous agitation at first before responding, "Well, you know, the usual; I was studying and doing my homework earlier, but then I went for a walk in the Digital World, and I was sort of planning on going to bed now--" 

"So that _was_ you I saw out there!" Yolei suddenly blurted out, startling the Digidestined of Kindness. "You jerk, why didn't you answer me when I called out to you?" Evidently all her shame from moments before was forgotten as she began to berate Ken. "For that matter, why did you go out there alone in the first place? You could have been hurt or eaten by some crazed digimon! Don't you know how scared you made Wormmon?!"

When she'd uttered the rookie-level digimon's name, Yolei suddenly remembered how worried Wormmon had sounded in his e-mail. "And speaking of Wormmon," she asked Ken a little more collectedly, "where is he? Does he even know you're back yet?" 

Ken opened his mouth to reply, but without waiting for an answer, the glasses-wearing girl determinedly started searching his room for the little digimon to tell him that his partner was back safe and sound. 

However, that didn't mean Ken was off the hook. She continued to scold him as she looked under his desk and in his closet. "Never mind Wormmon, do you realize how scared _I_ was searching all over the Digital World's equivalent of the Sahara for you? I mean, I thought I saw the Digimon Emperor out there, for Pete's sake." 

If Yolei hadn't been so busy trying to find Wormmon, she might have noticed that Ken had clearly stiffened and his eyes had clouded at the mention of his former alter ego. She still didn't recognize that anything was wrong with him as she brushed past the dark-haired boy and headed up the ladder to his bed.

"Oh, so here you are," said the hotheaded girl, her tone abruptly softening. She had found Wormmon fast asleep in Ken's bed, D-terminal open in front of him. 

Trying her best not to wake him, Yolei pried the small, gray device ever-so-delicately away from the sleeping green digimon and tucked him in under the covers. Before closing the pocket-sized machine so that she could give it back to Ken, she saw that the last thing Wormmon had done before falling asleep was to send a heartfelt thank you to Yolei for going after his best friend for him. 

By the time Yolei had climbed down the ladder, she had cooled down a bit but was now painfully aware of how much her legs hurt from all the running she had done in the Digital World.

Despite the discomfort, she tried her best to flash Ken a bright smile as she handed him back his D-terminal and said, "I forgot I had told him to go to bed, too."

Ken woodenly took back his device and merely nodded in acknowledgment. Yolei was about to tell him more, like about how she had received Wormmon's e-mail and gone into the Digital World by herself to search for him, but Ken sharply cut her off before she could utter a word, almost as if he had predicted her next move. "Well, thank you for 'dropping' by, Inoue, but it's getting late; you should go home and get some rest now," he said a bit curtly.

Yolei started at Ken's sudden use of her last name to address her, and she opened her mouth, ready to give him a piece of her mind for that, but then it hit her how discourteous she had been to her crush ever since she'd arrived in his room. 

"Oh, yeah, I guess you're right." Yolei hung her head, starting to feel guilty. 

'Great, he must be angry with me,' she thought despondently. 'I should have simply kept my big mouth shut from the start.' Unable to bear looking at him after the bullheaded way she had acted, the scarlet-eyed girl dragged herself over to his desk and murmured, "I'll just be going now. See you later then?"

Ken gave her a complacent smile, which she hardly noticed, and replied smoothly, "Of course."

As Yolei pulled out her red digivice and stared numbly at the computer screen, she heard Ken unexpectedly yell after her, "Yolei!"

The Digidestined of Love and Sincerity elatedly straightened at the sound of his voice. She remembered what had happened the last time Ken had called out to her like that. 

Suddenly becoming optimistic, Yolei was about to turn around to beam at him when Ken crushed all her hopes with an icy "Have a nice trip home." 

The lavender-haired girl felt as if a stone had just shattered her frail heart into a million shards of glass, and now she didn't dare look back at him, in fear that he might see the tears welling up in her eyes. A spiritless "thanks" was all that she could manage to choke out before weakly raising her D-3 to Ken's computer. "Digiport open."

Ken didn't even flinch as she disappeared into the computer screen in a blinding flash of light. 

As soon as she had gone, he immediately shut down his computer and muttered under his breath, "Pathetic girl." 

Seemingly unfazed by the entire incident, he made sure that he was all set for school, which would start in a little over five hours, and ready for bed. Just before he turned off his lights, though, he couldn't help but give himself one last look in his silver mirror.

Shaded indigo eyes stared back at indigo.

Triumphant smirk met triumphant smirk.

***

Gwen: *rereads and jaw drops open* I can't believe you did that!

G: Did what?

Gwen: You took Ken's pants off!

Gaia: o_O

G: ^_^;;; Uhm, I don't know what you're talking about?

Gwen: You heard me. It was originally supposed to be Yolei seeing Ken in his pajama pants, not in his boxers!

G: Well excuse me for giving the fangirls what they want. But, hey, at least I was responsible enough to up the rating for this part, just in case.

Gwen: (whining) Gaia! Do something about this!

Gaia: *pats G on the head* Good muse. Remind me to give you an extra treat at dinner.

Gwen: *slaps forehead* I give up.


	7. Chapter 7 :-((

~Reflection~

~Reflection~

Disclaimer: Hello! If I owned Digimon, wouldn't my writing be used for the show and not posted as fanfiction?

***

Chapter 7

While one Digidestined suffered physically at the hands of the Digital World, in addition to emotionally at the hands of her broken heart, another suffered mentally at the cruel hands of the darkest depths of his soul.

Ken's pillow was as wet as a sponge from all the sweat he perspired, but the sleeping boy couldn't care less at the moment. He continued to toss and turn in his bed, visions of what had happened earlier in the desert flooding back to him.

__

~~~ begin dream/flashback ~~~

Ken marched onward through the desert, his arm up to shield his eyes from the sand-stirring wind. He didn't stop until a familiar pile of rubble came into view. If his partner weren't in risk of danger, he would have opted never to come back to this horrid place again.

"Okay, I'm here! What is it that you wanted to show me?" he called out into the howling darkness.

All of a sudden, his surroundings wavered and shifted. The sharp, deafening wind that had moments before muffled his aggravated cry disappeared and was replaced by stagnant, blazing heat. No longer did icy Night rule the sky, but rather burning Day took her place.

Before him, the towering ruins were replaced by a freshly crashed black fortress that still haunted Ken in his nightmares.

'What the--?' Ken thought to himself. 'What kind of a sick joke is he trying to pull?' 

__

"Reset the Digital World? What are you talking about, Ken?"

The dark-haired boy whirled around at the sound of a familiar voice far behind him. "T. K.?!" he gasped.

Ken's eyes widened in shock at the sight that greeted them. In the distance he could make out the silhouettes of five children with their digimon standing over a hunched navy blue figure.

"It can't be!" 

Without losing a second, Ken dashed as quickly as lightning over the sand towards the crowd of humans and digimon. 

__

"… I'll just go home and delete all the Digital World data off my computer and create a new program. That way I can start a new Digital World that doesn't cheat," Ken heard the crouching person explain as he ran over.

"No…" He could now confirm his suspicions as to whom these people were. 

Cody and Armadillomon, Yolei and Hawkmon, Davis and Demiveemon, T. K. and Patamon, and Kari and Gatomon all looked down at a personage he hoped never to see again in his life.

"This was my last defeat as the Digimon Emperor," breathed Ken, slowing down in front of his former self.

****

'Well give the genius a prize.'

"You!" Ken whipped his head around, looking for the same menacing being that he had seen in his mirror, but found no one.

****

'Correction, a part of you.'

Finding his search futile, Ken simply growled into the thin, dry air and walked over to his comrades as their all-too-familiar conversation played on. 

__

"The Digital World is a completely real place, Ken. It's not just something that's programmed into your computer."

"We tried to tell you that before, but you thought that we were trying to play some kind of trick on you."

Ken reached out and tried to put a restraining hand on Yolei, who had spoken first, but to his great surprise, Ken's outstretched limb merely passed through her as if she were a ghost.

"What's the meaning of this?" He attempted to do the same with T. K., who had spoken next, but as before, his hand passed right through the shoulder of the tall, blond boy. 

An amused chuckle filled Ken's head. **'This is merely a shadow of your memories, boy. You can do nothing but watch.'**

Because he saw the truth in the voice's words, that was exactly what Ken did. He watched as Cody and Kari took their turns scolding him for what he had done. He watched as his former self scanned their digimon and realized the error of his ways. He watched as T. K. and Kari agreed that his mistakes were terrible but offered him a fresh start after all the sins he had confessed. 

****

'Look at how pitiful your demise was. You, once the greatest power in the Digital World, wound up groveling at the feet of a bunch of children. I didn't know you were such a quitter, Ichijouji.'

"Me? A quitter?" Now that was something he hadn't expected to hear.

****

'Yes, see for yourself!'

Ken glued his eyes on the Emperor, who tossed aside his gloves, cape, and glasses and walked away, hands clutching his spiky, blue hair.

****

'After one lost battle, you give up everything and go stumbling along, bemoaning your plight like a big crybaby. Whatever happened to "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again"?'

Just then, the Emperor's clothes disappeared from Ken's fallen counterpart, revealing his true gray-clad self

****

'If you hadn't reverted back to your weaker self, you may have been able to come back stronger than ever with the help of the Dark Spore. A thirst for revenge would have been all it needed to turn you into the most formidable power the Digital World has ever seen.'

Eyes still fixated on the doppelganger, Ken tried to block out his dark side's poison, tried to remind himself of the meaning of the glowing crest that flew over to his old self, tried to put up a stalwart fight against the nagging temptation in the back of his mind. 

He continued to suffer silently until he could feel his legs buckling under him out of sheer emotion. Dropping to one knee, Ken saw his lookalike fall to his knees, as well, to pick up and cradle gently in his arms the reason why he had changed. 

__

"Wormmon…"

Finally, he hissed to his inner demon, "But at what cost? More digimon would have been hurt, or even killed had I not been stopped."

__

"…I'm sorry. Don't go. You're my best friend."

"You're my best friend, too. Good-bye, Ken." With that, Wormmon gave one last sigh before breaking up into digital bits of data.

Angrily, Ken clenched his fist tightly and pounded the ground with it. "I won't ever let that happen again!"

Not deterred by his incensed state, but rather seeming to feed off of it, Ken's dark side continued to prod him, **'So what if you end up killing some of them? Digimon aren't like humans; digimon can be reborn. When they die, they're not gone forever like humans are. Your pet bug came back, didn't he? Think about it: you can have the pleasure of killing them all you want, and they'll always return for more. Even if you didn't know this, why should the deaths of these worthless bits of data matter to you?'**

"They matter to me because they're real creatures, not some pawns in a game!"

****

'Real? Hah! What difference does it make if they're real or not? Don't tell me you didn't enjoy torturing and putting those pitiful creatures out of their misery. Real or no, you relished every minute of it.'

"No!" Ken tried to ignore the sinister voice in his head, but there was nothing else he could do at the moment besides helplessly observe the awful memory playing out in front of him…

…and start to have some serious doubts. 'If I really were the kind and gentle person Wormmon says I am, then why did I continue to inflict pain after I had seen how much suffering it brought? Even though I thought it was a game, I could have at least had a little remorse or mercy. Is he right? Did I actually enjoy it? Am I really that heartless deep down?'

As Ken watched himself dejectedly walk away, the scene shimmered once again before his eyes. Thinking it was finally over and that he would be taken back to the stormy night desert, the indigo-haired boy breathed a sigh of relief. 

However, his dark side wasn't about to let up with the psychological torture now that he had the Digidestined of Kindness right where he wanted him. The next thing Ken knew, the Digimon Emperor was once again hunched in front of his five friends and their digimon.

"Wh-what's going on?" Ken asked in a panicky voice. 

__

"Reset the Digital World? What are you talking about, Ken?"

"Not again!" His eyes widened at the familiar sight. "Stop this! Why are you replaying these horrible memories?" By now, the mentally exhausted boy was on the verge of tears.

****

'Now, now, Ken.' The sinister voice taunted.** 'Didn't your soccer coach ever make you watch videos of other teams' games over and over again so that you could study your enemy? Well, since you seem to be your own worst enemy at the moment, I suggest you shut up and pay attention.'**

For some reason unable to speak or take his eyes off, Ken remained where he was on the ground and simply watched in mute pain until much of the torturous incident had been replayed.

All of a sudden, **'There!'** the internal voice exclaimed.

As if the pause button had been hit on a VCR, the scene before Ken stopped just as his double collapsed and his emperor clothes faded away.

"I-I'm finally becoming my true self…What more is there to see?" Ken managed to ask, distraught.

The voice chuckled ominously. This would be the straw that broke the donkey's back. 

****

'Think about it, Ken. If you could go from a fear-inspiring evil to a sickeningly repentant goody-two-shoes this easily, what makes you think that you can't turn back to the darkness just as easily?' A loud, sinister cackling suddenly exploded in Ken's head.

His dark side must have somehow pressed a rewind button in Ken's memory for the scene in front of him started to play backwards. As he watched the Emperor's clothes re-form on his past self, Ken 's own clothes started to feel heavier. Fearfully, he looked down at his hands––which were now gloved in black with streaks of crimson running across his palms.

"No!"

Frantically, Ken stood up and stared his clothes. A chill ran up his spine, and he could feel his pupils shrink as he recognized the tight blue suit that he was now wearing.

****

'You're already well on your way to becoming the Digimon Emperor again.'

Another clap of laughter rang through Ken's head as his surroundings reverted back to the howling desert night.

****

'Haven't you noticed how distant you've grown from that insect of a digimon of yours? Haven't you noticed how your study habits have improved dramatically within the last few hours? The Dark Spore is reactivating inside you, Ken, and soon I'll be in control once more.'

"NO!!!"

Terrified, Ken grasped the top of his head with both hands, running his gloved fingers through his flat indigo hair as he did so.

"The darkness is coming for me again," the regally dressed boy mumbled disconcertedly, eyes wide. "I can't escape it. He's right; I'll never be able to escape it. It can't be destroyed. My friends, my family, Wormmon…they're all in danger, and I'm powerless to stop it."

As the wind heedlessly blew all around him, Ken could have sworn he heard his name being called out. He peered out of the corner of his eye and saw a tall, dark shadow looming in the distance.

Hysterically, he screamed, "Oh, no! It's already here to get me." 

Immediately, Ken turned around, cape flapping out behind him, and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

"No, no, it can't be!" As he ran, faster and faster at an almost inhuman pace, he could feel a cold, oozing sensation creeping up from his legs to his arms, in no time engulfing his body from the neck down. "My dark side is taking over!" 

From somewhere in his mind, Ken could have sworn he heard another voice calling to him. "Ken…Ken…Ken!"

Before he could ponder whether the source of the new voice was good or evil, Ken spotted the activated Digiport only a few dozen meters away from him. "I'm almost home!"

~~~ _end dream/flashback ~~~_

"Ken…Ken…Ken, wake up!"

The boy in question bolted awake, panting and sweaty.

"Ken, you're back! I knew Yolei would come through." The little green digimon cried as he gleefully jumped into his partner's lap and hugged him. Then, in a more worried tone, he said, "But this is the second nightmare you've had in twenty-four hours, although at least this one happened at night like it's supposed to."

"Sorry, Wormmon, it's not like I can help it," Ken apologized, throwing off his drenched covers. "What time is it?"

"Time for you to wake up and get to school." His caterpillar-like digimon grinned with his eyes as he said this. 

"Oh, right…" Still a bit disturbed by what had happened to him the night before, the indigo-eyed boy shakily climbed down the ladder to his bed and headed for the bathroom. 

After washing his face and brushing his teeth, all the while not daring to look into the mirror, Ken began to contemplate his dream--or should he say the events of the previous night.

'I can't remember much after when my dream ended. The next thing I recall is changing for bed and Yolei popping out of my computer. Even then, a lot after that is fuzzy in my memory.'

As he walked back into his room and changed into his standard gray uniform, a sudden wave of indifference overcame him.

'Ah, who cares? I'll deal with this later. Right now I need to get to school.'

Grabbing his bookbag, which Wormmon had already crawled into, and giving his mom a quick reassurance that he didn't need breakfast, Ken raced out the door at the speed that gave him the nickname, the "Rocket."

****

'Fear is a powerful weapon, Ken. You can already see how effective it's been in turning the tide of our little war. Mwhahahahaha!' 

***

G and Gwen: *pant heavily after working on this chapter*

Gaia: See what you get for trying to trick me?

G: No comment.

Gwen: (whining) But I'm supposed to be the good muse.

G: Na-ah. I was the good muse last chapter.

Gwen: Well, I was the good muse the chapter before that.

G: So? I'm the most recent good muse.

Gwen: But I was the first good muse.

G and Gwen: *turn to Gaia* GAIA! Decide! 

Gaia: *shrugs* With the way you two are acting, Ken appears to be the only good muse.

G and Gwen: *face-fault*


	8. Chapter 8 :-))

~Reflection~

~Reflection~

Disclaimer: Three words: Digimon's not mine.

A/N: Okay, I don't know what Ken's school is like, so I'm basing this on my elementary school experiences. *shudders* Basically, I had one teacher for all my classes except for math, which I had to take from another teacher next door. Oh, by the way, I apologize in advance if anyone shares the same name as the extra characters in this chapter and/or is offended that I used them; G pulled them out of a hat for me. (G: Did no-- *gets five layers of duct tape slapped over her mouth*)

***

Chapter 8

"Hey look, it's Ken 'the _genius_' Ichijouji. Maybe I should ask him for help on my history homework," snickered one of Ken's classmates as the aforementioned boy walked through the door of his Advanced Trigonometry class. A round of giggles ensued.

"Don't pay any attention to them, Ken," Wormmon softly consoled the Digidestined of Kindness from his bookbag. 

Taking a little comfort from his partner's words, the dark-haired boy just pretended he didn't hear that sarcastic, not-so-quiet whisper and slowly trudged over to his desk. 

Only the best of Tamachi's gifted students were allowed the privilege of attending this accelerated math course while still in elementary school, and Ken was one of the two dozen that were handpicked for the class. In fact, before the Dark Spore was deactivated, Ken had easily become the top student, whereas his classmates had struggled just to stay above passing.

However, that was a thing of the past. Nowadays, Ken was the one who toiled along, barely keeping his head above water, while his jealous peers simply jeered at the former child prodigy every chance they got.

"Settle down, class, settle down," instructed the teacher, Mr. Morita, while putting his heavy briefcase on the desk. "Today, we're going to start off with a little pop quiz on the material covered in yesterday's lecture."

A wave of groans swept across the classroom at this announcement.

'A pop quiz!' Ken inwardly panicked. 'Shoot! I forgot to review my notes from yesterday, and I was only half awake the other day.'

"Put all calculators and notes away--only pencils and erasers allowed," Mr. Morita commanded as he pulled out a stack of papers. 

Ken nervously did as he was told, accidentally knocking his pencil off the desk in the process. This raised another quiet round of giggles all around him, but he managed to pick up the fallen writing utensil before his teacher slapped the three-page "quiz" facedown on his desk.

After making sure he had handed out all the exams, Mr. Morita looked at the clock and nonchalantly announced, "You may begin."

The sounds of two dozen rustling papers were heard immediately afterwards, as was the long silence of students pausing to think about how to do the first problem.

Ken, too, stared speechlessly at the first problem. 

'Oh my God, what do I do first? What do I do first?' He chanted this distressed thought over and over like a mantra in his head, fear of another failure rising in the back of his mind. 'What will my parents say this time? I'm going to disappoint them miserably again; I just know it!'

Suddenly the indigo irises of his eyes contracted, and something seemed to click in his brain. 'Wait a minute…What if I do this?'

Not wasting a second, Ken began to scribble out some equations and calculations quickly but neatly onto his paper.

'There, finished with the first one,' the boy thought proudly soon after. 'Now for the second.'

So intent was Ken on his work that he didn't notice a few of his classmates gawking at the way he swiftly wrote down an answer to each problem and noisily flipped each page.

After about five minutes, the boy genius gathered up his quiz and walked to the front of the room to turn it in. Twenty-three pairs of wide eyes were now focused on him. Some of his classmates hadn't even written anything on their papers yet.

"H-he's just doing this to intimidate us. Th-that's gotta be it; he's bluffing," whispered one student to another.

"Quiet! No talking!" Mr. Morita called as he glanced up slightly from the new manga he was reading. Not long after he had lowered his gaze to go back to his reading, his head shot up in surprise, his mind just registering the indigo-haired boy waiting patiently by his desk. "Oh! Ken! Do you have a question about the quiz?" he asked, hurriedly putting his manga away.

"No, Mr. Morita," Ken replied, his cool gaze momentarily alighting on the comic book before looking his teacher straight in the eye. "Actually, I came over to hand in my exam. I apologize if correcting it cuts into your precious reading time."

"Oh, uh, um, no, of-of course not…" the math teacher stuttered. "But are you sure you don't at least want to check it?"

"I already have, four times, and I've even calculated the sines and cotangents to the nearest thousandth, if you don't mind."

"Uh, not at all, though you didn't really have to do that since you don't get to use a calculator."

"I know. I was bored." With that, Ken turned on his heel and casually strode down the aisle back to his desk.

For the rest of the period, the young boy sat quietly in his seat with his eyes closed in meditation while his dazed classmates continued to labor through their quizzes.

When the bell rang to signal the end of class, Mr. Morita stated, "Pencils down, everyone--time to turn in your quizzes. Results will be posted in the hallway after school."

A few students hastily tried to add in last-minute answers, and some simply gave up and turned their papers in. Ken, on the other hand, merely picked up his bag, in which he could hear his digimon sleeping soundly, and exited the classroom. 

"Foolish insects," he muttered under his breath as he left.

~~~

For the rest of the day, Ken breezed through his classes easily, if not more easily than he had in his math class.

During the physics lesson, Ken took up half an hour debating quantum theories with his teacher and even presented a few that he had come up with on his own.

When it was time for Japanese, everyone was captivated by the graded impromptu speech Ken gave, which perfectly filled up the five minutes given to him to the last millisecond.

For P. E., he and his classmates had played a "friendly" game of basketball. No one was really surprised that Ken's team won; rather, they were more astonished at how Ken managed to make baskets from half court in their large gymnasium and led his team to a hundred-point lead victory.

Later, his teacher was having second thoughts about giving Ken the grade he got on his last history test when the indigo-haired boy took over the lecture and went into much greater detail than he or the book had about the shoguns of Japan.

After lunch, during which Ken had fed Wormmon his entire meal (miraculously without letting the little digimon know it), he once again astounded students and teacher alike in the foreign language lesson by fluidly reading off difficult passages from British and Spanish literature and instantly translating them. 

At the end of the day, Ken immediately headed down the winding corridors towards the exit of Tamachi Elementary. It was a good thing that soccer season hadn't started yet; otherwise he wouldn't have been able to meet his friends until much later that afternoon--and he wanted to see them again as soon as possible.

Ken suddenly felt an eager squirming coming from his bookbag, and he pulled it up to his chest just in time to see a gasping, green head pop out from it. 

"Ken, I'm suffocating in here!" whined the little digimon.

"Wormmon!" Ken quietly scolded, looking around too make sure no one had seen him. "Get back in there. I'm not out of school yet. Just wait a bit longer!" 

Ken was in the process of roughly returning the rookie-level digimon to his temporary place of confinement when he happened to pass through the hall where the math scores were posted.

"Man, Ken totally aced that pop quiz."

"Looks like the genius is back."

"Maybe I should ask for his help after all."

"I bet he cheated somehow."

The gray-clad boy's disapproving frown immediately turned into a smug smile. 

That was all Ken Ichijouji needed to hear from the astonished crowd of his classmates to know that his suspicions about that pathetic excuse for a quiz had been correct.

The boy swelled up with pride. It was about time those nitwits gave him the respect he deserved.

"Ken, are they saying mean things about you again?" whispered Wormmon, poking his head slightly through the half-closed bookbag.

"No, Wormmon," Ken hissed, turning his back to the huddled group of students and pushing the insect-like digimon down into the bag. "They're just drooling over the A I got on my quiz this morning, that's all."

"You got an A!" chirped the green digimon, popping his head back out for the third time with a happy shimmer in his blue eyes. "That's wonderful. I knew you could do it, Ken!"

"Hey, Ken!" yelled one of the female students from his math class. 

"Get down already! Do you know how much they would ridicule me if they found out I brought my digimon to school?" hurriedly whispered the indigo-haired boy, shoving Wormmon back into the bag none-too-gently.

Ken didn't need to turn around to recognize who was calling him; he knew this girl well.

Nami Kitto. 

Sure, she might act innocent and sweet to everyone, especially to the teachers, but Ken knew that whenever he wasn't around, this green-eyed she-devil made fun of him to no end, particularly about his friendship with "those brats in Odaiba."

Nami ran up behind him and laid an unwelcome hand on Ken's shoulder in feigned amiability.

"Hey! Did you see the results of the trig quiz?" she asked excitedly. Without waiting for an answer, the ebony-haired girl blurted out the only thing that was worth seeing. "You got a perfect score! Wow, did you, like, study all night or something? I can't believe that you did it so fast, too. It almost seemed like old times when you used to polish off a huge test in, like, less than ten minutes. You know, I scored the third highest in the class, but I was nowhere close to you. I only got a C+, but then again, I didn't review or anything for--."

Here, Ken was starting to bore of her inane chatter, so he turned around to face her and placed his index finger lightly on her lips, quieting her in half a second. 

Then, flashing her the complacent smile he used to give the reporters, he coolly said, "My, my, third in the class, eh? And you say you didn't review the material beforehand?"

The wide-eyed girl stiffly nodded and remained in shocked silence.

"Well, neither did I, so that could only mean that our scores must have come from a difference in fortuitous retention more than anything else." 

Ken lifted his finger off her lips and walked past her before suavely continuing. "Maybe you should actually try looking over the material for once in your life. Then perhaps you could be the second highest student in the class--second next to me, of course. Now if you'll excuse me," Ken said as he started strolling away from her, "I need to go play with some _friends_ in Odaiba that have reserved my valuable time in advance."

With that, he carelessly waved a hand in farewell to the slack-jawed girl standing alone in the hallway.

Slowly, a smirk spread across the child prodigy's face. 

****

'Pride down, only one more to go.'

***

Gwen: Only one more what to go?

G: *eyes beaming hopefully* Chapter?

Gaia: *slaps the back of G's head* You wish! *turns to Gwen* Only one more dark emotion to go, of course. Haven't you been keeping up with the story?

Gwen: But I'm just the--

Gaia and G: WE KNOW! (in a dull sing-song voice)You're just the grammar check…

Gwen: Exactly.

G: Can't we give her another job?

Gaia: Hmmm…*sly grin appears* Oh, I think I can think of something.

Gwen: O_O!!!

A/N: Okay, listen up, folks. (Gwen: Don't you mean "attention; read the following, folks"? *gets thrown out the window*) On a more serious note, now that school's starting, I'm going to have less time to work on this story. What does that mean? Basically chapters out less frequently, a story cut off shorter than I'd like, and maybe worse writing. (G: Like it could get any worse. *sees Gaia stand up and sighs* I know, I know. *throws herself out the window*) But don't worry; I'm bound and determined to give my story at least a decent ending, which should still be quite a few chapters ahead. Until my next update (which I'm aiming for to be in two weeks at the latest), take care, y'all, and my condolences to those who have lost someone in the recent tragedy.


	9. Chapter 9 :-b

~Reflection~

~Reflection~

Disclaimer: Digimon ain't mine, but my muses sure as heck are (unfortunately.)

A/N: This pertains partially to this chapter and mainly to the next chapter: I have very limited knowledge about soccer, (Gwen: Limited being defined as whatever general information she remembers learning in P. E. a few years back. G: Showoff!) so bear with me here. Also, I'm not sure if Yolei is the tallest among the Digidestined, so don't quibble about that part when you get to it. With those said, enjoy this long, boring chapter.

***

Chapter 9

"Ken, there you are!" joyfully shouted a brown-haired boy wearing goggles. Waving his arms wildly, he ran across the lush green field of Odaiba's local park to greet his gray-clad friend, who was strolling at a leisurely pace in their direction. "You know, I was about to take on everyone by myself when it didn't look like you were coming."

"Yeah, just me and Davis!" cried a blue digimon trailing not far behind him. "We could have taken them all on single-footedly."

"Don't you mean single-handedly, Veemon?" questioned Wormmon, who was riding atop Ken's shoulder and watched as the Digidestined of Courage and his energetic rookie-level digimon bounded up to them.

"But I thought you weren't allowed to use your hands in soccer," stated a confused Veemon.

"Not unless you're the goalie," remarked the thin dark-haired boy, stopping once the enthusiastic duo had come close enough. Then in a half-mocking tone, he added, "But I'm _sure_ you already knew that. After all, Davis _is _your partner, and soccer seems to be one of the only things he relatively excels in." 

Davis scratched his head, puzzled. "I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult." He shrugged. "Oh well, I'll think about it later. Now that you're here, let's get this game going!"

"Wait! We can't start yet," said a tall blond boy walking up behind Davis. On top of his white fisherman's hat rode an orange digimon with bat-like wings.

"Huh?" The goggle-headed boy turned around to glare at the Digidestined of Hope. "Why not, T. J.?"

Coming up next to T. K., a short child with dark brown hair answered for him. "Because Yolei isn't here yet, that's why."

"Cody's right. It'd be kinda uneven playing with an odd number of humans, don'tcha think?" drawled the yellow armadillo-like digimon at his side.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," said Davis sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ken's always been the one who's late, so we usually start the party after he arrives."

"Don't worry. She should be coming soon," assured a brunette girl, wandering over and standing in between Cody and T. K. with a Gatomon in her arms, "though she's been really tired all day for some strange reason." 

The girl's cat-like digimon looked up at her. "Didn't you read your mail this morning, Kari?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I didn't think I would get any e-mail. Why?"

All but Ken gaped at her with their mouths open. 

"Kari, Ms. 'I've Got Mail' herself, didn't expect to get e-mail?" the lanky, indigo-eyed boy snorted. 

Gatomon explained before Kari could say anymore in her defense. "Wormmon asked Yolei to go find Ken in the Digital World last night. She probably stayed up a long time looking for him and didn't get much sleep."

The green caterpillar-like digimon bowed his head apologetically. "Yes, I'm afraid that's true." All eyes turned to Wormmon when he said this. "But I'm extremely grateful that Yolei was up late because she brought Ken back safe and sound. I was so worried when he wandered off to the Digital World alone like he did." 

Now all eyes turned to Ken.

"What were you doing in the Digital World?" Davis spoke for the rest of them.

Ken's eyes narrowed. He was about to sneer that it was none of their business when suddenly Kari spotted something over his other shoulder.

"Yolei!" the concerned Digidestined of Light called out to her friend.

Everyone present turned to see the sleepy lavender-haired girl trudging slowly over to them--barely being kept on her feet by Hawkmon, who flew behind her and held the collar of her shirt up in his beak.

So fixated was everybody's gaze on the sluggish Digidestined of Love and Sincerity that no one noticed Ken's eyes, as well as his indigo irises, widening at the sight of the fatigued girl. 

"Yolei…?" the Digidestined of Kindness breathed. 

Before anyone could say anything more, much less move a muscle, Ken dashed over to intercept the girl in question. So quickly had he accelerated that Wormmon nearly fell off his shoulder.

"Ken, slow down, I'm losing my grip on you!" the green digimon cried frantically, clutching onto his partner's gray uniform for dear life, but the boy hardly heard him.

Across the field, about a hundred meters ahead of them, Hawkmon was saying almost the exact same thing to his human partner. "Shtopf, Myolei," he tried to mumble with her shirt still in his beak, "Iph camn't holdmf onmf mwfuch mfwonger!" Much like Ken, the girl scarcely paid much attention to her digimon.

"I knew I should have slept more during Chemistry…" she mumbled and rubbed her eyes, which were red from crying all night and not getting enough rest.

Then, without warning, Yolei tripped over a small rock in the grass in front of her and was sent hurtling forward. 

"Yoleeeeeiiiii!" Hawkmon's hold on her was completely lost as he, too, was sent tumbling ahead.

Foggy though her mind was, the lavender-haired girl still recognized that she was falling and braced herself for impact on the hard ground.

As the low-cut grass rushed up towards her face, the last thing she expected to see were the pair of pale hands that reached down to catch her at the last possible second. 

Hearing a small grunt and the thud of someone crashing to his knees in front of her, Yolei looked up with bleary eyes at the person who had saved her. 

"Ken?" she murmured incredulously, a blush starting to form on her face.

His arms hooked under hers and his hands clasped tightly behind her back, Ken looked down into Yolei's sleepy red eyes with his shining indigo ones.

"Are you okay?" he whispered to her softly.

Yolei didn't say a word. She merely nodded her head a little and hung onto his strong, protective arms for support. 

Likewise, Ken said nothing more as he held onto her. Both simply sat there on their knees, gazing deeply into each other's eyes.

The dazed girl felt like she could stare into his round, gentle eyes all day…just her and those two deep seas of azure… 

"Earth to Yolei and Ken! Hello?!"

A familiar tan hand waved between the two of them and broke their gaze.

"Davis, cut that out!" The hand instantly disappeared. "Yolei, are you all right?" came Kari's concerned voice.

"Huh?" Yolei flinched and looked up at her DNA-Digivolving partner. "Oh, yeah, just a little clumsy, that's all. How about you, Ke--?"

Yolei didn't finish her question. As she had turned her head back towards the boy who had saved her, she could have sworn she saw the sparkle in his eyes vanish and a hard iciness replace it.

"I'm fine, thank you," Ken said in a deadpan voice. He released his grip on Yolei and stiffly stood up. The others helped the perplexed girl get to her feet.

"Great! Now that everyone's here, let's get started. I'm team captain!" said Davis, seeing that no one was seriously injured and eager to get the game going before it got any later in the afternoon.

Pushing her uneasiness to the back of her mind, Yolei's instinct to rebuke such a pretentious claim, especially from someone who had interrupted her blissful moment with Ken, instantly kicked in. Her brain might have been fuzzy, but that didn't mean she was going to let Davis get away with his selfishness.

"Who died and made you captain?!" Yolei suddenly turned and practically yelled at him. She was more awake now than she had been all day.

"Wha…? Um, uh, er, no one." Not expecting an outburst to come from the weary girl, Davis stumbled backwards a step before putting a determined look on his face and retorting. "But since I'm the best soccer player around, I deserve to be captain," he confidently shot back.

"No you don't. Ken deserves to be captain more than you do! He's ten times the soccer player you are, or have you forgotten how he easily kicked your sorry butt at the game last season?"

The indigo irises of Ken's eyes shrank.

"But that was almost a year ago. I've gotten better since then--better than Ken, and I'll prove it." 

This time Ken's eyes narrowed.

"Hey, hey! Settle down you two; both Davis and Ken can be team captains," T. K. tried to pacify them. "We need two teams to play, after all."

A small, sly smile crept over Ken's face. Turning to Davis and extending his hand, the indigo-haired boy said in a smooth voice, "I'm up for it. How about you, my _worthy adversary_?"

Davis started at the name and again nearly fell backwards. 'Whoa, now this is weird. Ken hasn't called me that since…' the bearer of the Digieggs of Courage and Friendship pondered. Then, one of his brilliant thoughts struck him. 'Oh, I get it: he's just joking around. This is gonna be kinda like a rematch of that soccer game. Only this time, he doesn't stand a chance against me. I'll show that Yolei!'

Aloud, Davis answered playfully, "Of course I am, 'Rocket.' Davis the Courageous doesn't back down from any challenge." He took Ken's extended hand in his own and shook hard. "But I wanna pick my players first, if that's all right with you."

"Suits me just fine."

"Hey, can't we set a few ground rules first?" complained Gatomon, who had just jumped down onto the grass.

"What do you suggest?" asked Kari, crossing her now-free arms over her chest.

"For starters, us digimon shouldn't get separated from our human partners; it's kinda hard to play at our best knowing that we're going up against the people we're destined to be with," piped up Patamon, hovering next to T. K. "So that means when you pick someone, his or her partner has to join your team, too."

"And another thing, no one can digivolve or use his or her special attacks," continued Gatomon. "We don't want you guys to lose your heads."

"Literally," added Armadillomon.

"Sounds good to me," said Yolei.

"Okay, okay, can we get this game started already?" Davis stamped his foot to show his impatience. 

Everyone nodded, giving the goggle-wearing boy the cue to pick. "Good. Then, I choose Kari and Gatomon to be with me and Veemon."

"Why am I not surprised?" Kari mumbled as she and her digimon walked over to stand by Davis and his cheering digimon.

"Hmph. Yolei and Hawkmon, you're on my team," Ken simply stated.

"Really?! You really want me on your team?" Yolei cried ecstatically. 

"Of course. You're the tallest one here; you'd make an excellent goalie," the dark-haired boy said matter-of-factly.

"Oh." Yolei's face saddened as she walked over to his side. For the second time that day, the guy of her dreams had crushed her heart. 

Noticing the pain in his partner's eyes, Hawkmon immediately tried to comfort her. "Don't let that get to you, Yolei," the bird-like digimon whispered. "He probably just wants to give you a chance to rest. After all, a goalie's job requires the least amount of work."

"I guess you're right," she sighed and whispered back, "especially if Ken's on our side."

Oblivious to what was going on with the heartbroken girl, Davis continued his draft. "Let's see, next I'll choose…" 

"T. K., Patamon, come join us!" Kari called before the brown-haired boy could decide.

"What?!" Davis's eyes bugged out of his head.

"Please, Davis." The "Angel of Light" batted her eyelashes and gave the team captain her best puppy dog eyes.

The lovestruck boy melted. "Sure…anything you say, Kari," he said dreamily.

"Well, that leaves you and Armadillomon with me, Cody…huh?" As Ken turned to face the young boy, he noticed that the emerald-eyed child was staring intently at him. Ken's casual smile instantly vanished. 

"Anything wrong?"

'I get the strange feeling that there's something not right about Ken, but I just can't place my finger on it,' the grave little boy thought. 

"Cody?" Armadillomon pulled on his partner's pants leg, shaking him from his reverie.

"What? Oh, it's nothing. Let's just go play," Cody quickly said and started walking over to the soccer field.

"I hear that!" Davis began sprinting towards the huge grass field, which the goggle-wearing leader of the new Digidestined had reserved for them by scaring off every person who had even set foot on it since school ended.

"Wait for me, Davis!" yelled Veemon, hot on his heels.

Ken and Wormmon soon followed, leaving Yolei behind with Kari, T. K., and their digimon. 

"Are you sure you're up for this, Yolei?" asked Kari, who had put a comforting hand on the tired girl's shoulder.

"You know, you can always sit out if you want. I'll even sit out with you to make it fair," offered T. K.

Yolei weakly waved a dismissing hand. "No, I'll be all right. I wouldn't want anybody to miss out on my account. Besides," she stood up straight and attempted to sound more cheery, "Ken's gonna need my help."

Yolei struck a dramatic pose with her finger pointing in no particular direction. Human and digimon alike sweatdropped at her sudden burst of confidence.

"Let's go, Digidestined!" the lavender-haired girl shouted and ran after the three boys.

"Looks like that nap in Chemistry did her some good after all," said Hawkmon, flying after her.

T. K. sighed. "We'd better hurry up before Davis has a fit about us lagging behind."

"Right! We wouldn't want to give him any ideas about us," Kari giggled. With that, the two humans and two digimon jogged over to join their friends.

~~~

"Ready?" asked Davis eagerly, putting down the soccer ball in the middle of the field between him and Ken.

"May the best man win," Ken said slyly, his mouth twisting into a half smile as he matched Davis's determined gaze.

Everyone was in position: Yolei was playing goalie for Ken's team, with Hawkmon and Wormmon close by on defense and Cody and Armadillomon helping on offense, while on Davis's team, T. K. was goalie, Patamon and Gatomon were on defense, and Kari and Veemon were helping with offense.

Returning the smile, Davis silently stared into Ken's unreadable indigo eyes for what seemed like an eternity.

Finally, adrenaline rushing through his veins, the goggle-headed Digidestined of Courage and Friendship shouted, 

"GO!"

Before Davis could make a move, however, or even blink for that matter, Ken and the soccer ball had disappeared from sight.

"Huh?" The bewildered boy turned around just in time to see the "Rocket" dribble the ball past Patamon and Gatomon and shoot it cleanly into the goal.

Davis simply stood there stunned. Only one thing ran through his mind at that moment. 

The leader of the new Digidestined knew he had said this nearly a year ago, but now he was going to say it again. "Houston," he gulped, "we have a problem."

***

Gwen: *sitting on the branch of a tree* Now tell me, since when have you felt like this?

Ken: *still shaking and mumbling* Fangirls…torturing me…can't drive them away…

Gwen: *sighs and calls down to the ground* Gaia, I don't think I'm cut out for this.

Gaia: Be quiet and go back to being Ken's psychiatrist. You needed another job, and what more useful job is there than bringing Ken back to sanity so that he can be other people's muse?

G: (slyly to herself) Especially Gaia's muse. Heh heh heh!

Gwen: (exasperated) Fine. *turning back to Ken* So, tell me about your childhood.

Ken: *screams*


	10. Chapter 10 :-P

~Reflection~ 

Disclaimer: You know the drill: I write a fanfic, I say that Digimon's not mine in some amusing way, and nobody sues me. (I hope.)

Gaia: It's about time FFN let me upload this chapter!

G: *snorts* Like it would have made a difference if FFN were down or not…

Gwen: Yeah, I'm surprised you got this story updated by now, considering all your math homework, the chem. lab report you had to write, oh, and don't forget about that essay due next Tuesday…

Gaia: *glares at Gwen* Don't you have a job you should be doing?

Gwen: (meekly) Yes, ma'am. *goes off to find Ken*

G: *rolls eyes* Anyway, you haven't updated in such a long time _I'm_ surprised you haven't forgotten what's happened so far in your story.

Gaia: ^_^;;; ….

G: You do remember what's happening, right?

Gaia: ….uhm….

G: Don't tell me you've already forgotten how you made Ken's dark side take over and turn him back into the slick genius we all know and love!!!

Gaia: …I think I need to head on over to class now. *runs* 

***

Chapter 10

"Armadillomon," Ken commanded secretly while Davis went to retrieve the soccer ball, "start tunneling under the field right now and make sure you surface exactly two meters in front of T. K."

The confused yellow digimon looked up at the tall boy with a quizzical expression on his pointy face. "But I thought it was against the rules to leave this position until the ball was kicked in the face-off," Armadillomon stated. He was almost positive that's what Cody had told him beforehand.

"This game is supposed to be for fun, remember? Trivialities like that shouldn't matter. Now hurry up and get going!" harshly ordered the team's captain.

Armadillomon shrank back at the cold glare Ken gave him, but he meekly obeyed. "Y-you're the boss." 

The hard-shelled digimon immediately began burrowing under the ground in the direction of the blond goalie. This done, Ken smugly strode to the center of the field, a calculating smile etched on his porcelain face.

Unbeknownst to Ken, however, not too far away, a small boy with observant emerald eyes had been silently watching the entire scene between his partner digimon and the team captain. 

'What's Ken up to?' Cody wondered.

"Okay, that caught me a little off guard, but this time I'm ready to kick your butt, Ken." Davis's challenge interrupted the thoughts of the Digidestined of Knowledge and Reliability and forced him to bring his attention back to the game.

"Is that so? Well, then you'd better be on guard now because I'm through warming up," snidely contested the indigo-haired boy.

"That's good, 'cuz I'm, er, done warming up, too," said Davis, putting the ball down between them. That really wasn't true, but he couldn't let Ken know how intimidated he was by that first goal. "Ready?"

"Your call."

"GO!"

Despite the effort he put into the kick, before Davis could make his foot come in contact with the ball, Ken had already shot it well out of his reach straight towards….

…Cody.

This took everyone by surprise, especially Cody.

"Pass me the ball!" yelled Ken, who was already halfway to the goal.

The young boy snapped to attention, kicking the ball as hard as he could in Ken's general direction.

After having to jump over Gatomon and duck Patamon's dive bomb, Ken managed to receive the wide pass. He then dribbled the ball down the rest of the way, Davis hot on his heels.

When he was in range, the swift team captain fired the ball, apparently straight at T. K.

Seeing this, Davis slowed down to conserve his energy. 'Ha! That was a _smart_ move,' he thought sarcastically. 'Even T. G. can block that shot.'

Watching the ball intently as it rapidly approached him, T. K. planted his feet firmly into the soft grass and tensely waited for it to come nearer so he could catch it. Just as the soccer ball rolled closer and closer to the fair-haired goalie, though, something small and yellow burrowed out of the ground in front of him.

"I guess this is the--oh boy!" As soon as Armadillomon had seen the black and white sphere headed his way at a dangerous speed, he curled up into a tight ball, plated shell ready to protect him. 

Before everyone's eyes, the soccer ball bounced off the digimon's hard armor, ricocheted against the inside of the left goal post, and flew into the net.

It would be an understatement to say that Davis's entire team was speechless. 

On the other side of the field, though, Yolei was cheering her head off at the sight of another goal. "GO KEN!!! You were great! You, too, Cody and Armadillomon!"

"Um, Yolei, could you please turn down the volume on those lungs," pleaded Hawkmon, his wings covering his throbbing ears.

~~~

The rest of the game transpired in much the same manner. Ken would either dribble the ball and shoot it into the goal at impossible speeds or strategically pass the ball to the most unexpected players--even the other team's players--and then have it sent back to him to score. Either way, the young genius was always three steps ahead of his rivals' team captain. 

That is, until the last ten minutes of their game. At that time, Davis got so frustrated with all of Ken's goals that at the face-off, he simply tackled the other boy and used his entire body to pin Ken down. While the two captains struggled, Veemon took the ball, dribbled it past Ken's defense, and passed it to Kari, who scored a goal off a startled Yolei. 

Despite this mishap, the dark-haired captain didn't blow up in Davis's face over the illegal, not to mention humiliating, tackle; instead, he got his revenge by scoring goals even more rapidly than he had before.

At the end of their hour-long game, the score was 27-1, in Ken's favor, of course. When Davis decided to call it quits, everyone gathered in the center of the field to rest.

"Dude, Ken," panted a sweaty Davis, falling back into the soft grass out of sheer exhaustion. "Have you been practicing in the off season or what?"

Not even out of breath, Ken merely shrugged and remained standing next to him. "Actually, no, though you have to admit, both of us may have played better had we been wearing the proper gear." With that, Ken reached down and tapped his uncleated shoes to back up his words. 

Davis sweatdropped. "Yeah, that must have been what was wrong with me," he laughed nervously, "or else I would have totally pulverized you."

"Humph, not as much as I pulverized you just now," commented Ken coolly.

"Ooo, sounds like fighting words to me," said T. K. quietly to the rest of the Digidestined and digimon. Everyone else had sat down in a circle together a few meters away from the two boys. 

"Great, not another fight," Yolei groaned. Ever since their last battle with Malomyotismon, the two co-leaders of the Digidestined had become even closer comrades. As such, they often had friendly little bouts of bickering like this between them.

"Let's just hope that it doesn't last more than two hours this time," stated Kari, lying back into the grass.

"Yeah," agreed Gatomon, curling up beside her, "I'm about ready for a catnap."

As the argument between the two boys grew louder, everyone couldn't help but stop talking and listen in.

"What?! Hey, it's like you said; I didn't have the proper gear on, that's all," defended Davis.

"Oh, come on, Motomiya, even Kari scored more points than you did," taunted Ken leaning over to leer at him.

"That's only because I was too busy trying to keep you down!"

"'Trying' being the operative word, Goggle-head."

Davis sat up and opened his mouth to speak. However, no sound came out because he couldn't think of anything to say. After a few seconds of thinking, though, he shot back, "Well, at least I _have_ goggles!" Beaming, he pointed to the eyewear he adorned on his head. "And these, I might add, I got from the former leader of the Digidestined himself." 

Ken snorted. "Tai only gave you those because you were careless enough to break your own."

"Well, I wouldn't have broken them in the first place if some wannabe tyrant with his cape on too tight hadn't sent his stupid controlled digimon after me!"

Ken straightened, his eyes narrowing and shooting daggers at the boy lying in the grass. 

When the others didn't hear Ken argue back immediately, they all turned around to see what was going on--and stared in shock at the frosty glare the dark-haired boy was giving to the startled boy below him. He almost looked like…no, it couldn't be.

"I think I should start heading home now," Ken seethed in a barely contained voice. "Come on, Wormmon. We're leaving."

The little, green digimon hesitantly left the circle of friends and obeyed his partner. Seeing his digimon scurrying after him, Ken picked up his bag and silently walked away.

"Grrrr, Davis!" growled Yolei and stood up. 

Davis blinked innocently at her. "What did I say?"

"Argh! Sometimes I think you have a looser tongue than I do." Noticing that Ken was getting farther and farther away, she decided to spare Davis for now and run after the grim boy, Hawkmon not too far behind.

"Um, now that Ken's gone," spoke up a grave voice once those four were out of earshot, "I'd like to talk to you guys about he way he's been acting." 

All eyes turned to the short, flat-haired child who sat at the far end of the group.

"About the way he's been acting? Like how, Cody?" inquired Kari, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, first of all, I noticed earlier that he was forcing Armadillomon to break the rules so that he could score that second point."

"But he told me that it shouldn't matter," gasped the bewildered yellow digimon.

"I knew he must have been cheating!" Davis shouted and jumped up.

"Settle down, Davis. It's not like you were following the rule book either with that tackle of yours," said T. K.

The goggle-wearing boy blushed and quieted down.

"Hmmm…but according to Armadillomon, Ken does have a point. I mean, we're all friends, right? And things like that shouldn't get to us," soothed Kari.

"If we're such good friends, then why did he cheat?" asked Gatomon.

"He could have just wanted to show off," offered Patamon.

Cody continued, "And did you guys see that cold look in his eyes? If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he was the Digimon Emperor again."

"That's insane!" exclaimed Davis, now defending his best friend. Soccer was one thing, but this was a completely different matter, one he took very seriously. "Ken's been over that for some time now. Just because he wasn't playing fair, for once, and he's in a bad mood doesn't mean he's turned on us." 

"Yeah, he's probably having a bad day. Someone should give him some candy to cheer him up," Veemon tried to help.

Everyone sweatdropped at that last statement.

"If it makes you feel any better, Cody, we'll talk to him tomorrow about it, okay?" suggested Kari.

"Fine," reluctantly conceded the small boy, "Tomorrow we'll find out the truth, then."

~~~

Meanwhile, Yolei had managed to catch up to Ken in no time.

"Hey, Ken, wait up," she said, laying her hand on his shoulder to stop him. In return, she received an icy look from the indigo-eyed boy that nearly made her take a step back.

"What do you want, _Inuoe_?" 

Yolei's mouth opened in indignation. 'Again on a last name basis? Ooooh no, he isn't going to get away with it this time.' 

"What's the matter with you?" she snapped at him. "You know as well as I do that Davis didn't mean what he said; he was just acting like a moron, as usual. It's nothing you should get so ticked off about. And why have you suddenly started calling me by my last name? Was it because of how I acted last night? Well, if it is, I'm sorry, okay? You don't have to become a pigheaded jerk over it!"

Ken's expression darkened. How dare she speak to him like that? He was about to sneer some spiteful remark at her when he checked himself, **'No, I can't loose my temper at her now. It's not time yet for them to discover that their precious Digidestined of Kindness is no longer in control of his body.'**

Instead, the indigo-haired boy bowed his head and mumbled lowly, "Don't be sorry; I'm the one who should apologize. I haven't been feeling like myself lately."

This time, Yolei was taken aback. With the way he had been looking at her, she was expecting him to explode or something. 

Internally, Ken's dark side smirked.

Gazing at the seemingly humbled boy, Yolei started to calm down. "No, it's okay; you don't have to apologize. I completely forgot that you haven't been feeling well."

Unwilling to look her in the eye, Ken reached down to pick up a distressed Wormmon and turned to leave. "I guess I'll see you later then," he said in a hollow voice.

"Yeah, you too," Yolei replied guiltily. She watched as he slowly marched out of the park and headed for the train station.

"My, that went over well," said the bird digimon who had been hovering right behind her the whole time.

The Digidestined of Love and Sincerity let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know what to do Hawkmon. He's never acted like this before. Why does he change so suddenly like that? It's as if I'm talking to two different people every time I meet him now."

Her partner digimon shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't have an answer for that, Yolei. How about we get some rest and ask him about it tomorrow?"

"I suppose that's the only thing we can do." Yolei tiredly let out another sigh. "Come on, Hawkmon, let's get back to the others."

***

Gaia: *comes in and slams the door*

G: So, how was school today?

Gaia: (shouting) FINE!

G: Geez, who put sandpaper on _your_ toilet seat?

Gaia: *glares at G, pauses to think, and then smiles* You know, I've been thinking…

G: For once.

Gaia: Be quiet! I'm trying to reveal an evil plan here.

G: Oh, then by all means, go ahead.

Gaia: Thank you. As I was saying, I've been thinking, and I realized that while Gwen's out there trying to bring Ken back to sanity, you've been sitting around here doing nothing all this time…*grins wickedly*

G: Hey, wait! That doesn't sound like an evil plan to me!

Gaia: Funny, it does to me. *grins wider* So, I thought that maybe I should give you another job as well.

G: O_O!!! I don't like the sound of this…


	11. Chapter 11 :-0

~Reflection~

Disclaimer: I've never claimed to own Digimon, have I? (G: *presses "Play" on tape recorder*/Recorder: *plays with Gaia's voice on it* I'm rich! I own Digimon! I'm rich!) Excuse me for a moment. *throws G and the tape recorder out the window*

***

Chapter 11

Sinking fast below the horizon, the dying sun cast a reddish hue over the district of Tamachi. Its fiery glow flooded through a sliding glass door of the Ichijouji residence, whose youngest human occupant was currently working in silence in his crimson-colored room. 

While Ken busily typed at his computer, Wormmon huddled on the bed, half-afraid to come down, half-anxious to see what was occupying his partner. He had opted to stay where he was ever since Ken had come home, unceremoniously placed him on the bed, and set to work on whatever it was he was doing. 

The caterpillar-like digimon scooted over to the edge of the elevated bed and opened his mandibles to speak, but he then remembered how temperamental Ken had been acting lately and decided it would be best to wait until the boy was in the right mood before talking. 

He didn't have to wait long, though. A few minutes later, Ken closed the program he was fiddling around with and stood up.

Wormmon figured that this was as good a chance as any. "Ken, what's wrong? You haven't been acting like the sweet, depressed kid I've come to love. Did something bad happen to you?"

His eyes never leaving the computer screen, Ken muttered softly, "No, Wormmon, everything's fine. There's just some unfinished business I need to take care of."

Activating the Digiport program on his computer, the indigo-haired boy pulled out his black D-3 and raised it to the monitor. 

Wormmon's antennae shot up. "We-we're going to the Digital World?" he asked in surprise.

"No, of course not," Ken casually replied, still not turning around.

The green digimon let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm going to the Digital World alone, and you're staying here."

"What?!" cried Wormmon, now extremely alarmed.

Cocking his head to the side, Ken nonchalantly queried, "Can't a guy take a walk in the Digital World without his digimon worrying himself sick?"

"But Ken--"

"I know, I know…You're probably hungry, right? It being close to dinnertime and all…" said Ken, purposely missing the point. "I'll tell you what: you sit there and be quiet, and I'll bring you something back from Digitamamon's."

Before Wormmon argue with him, the gray-clad boy yelled, "Digiport open!" and was gone in a flash.

~~~

Elsewhere, in Odaiba, a lavender-haired girl yawned and stretched in her barely long enough bed. A two-hour's rest was just what she needed to recharge.

As she sat up and put on her glasses, the completely refreshed girl heard a faint knocking at her door. "Yolei, dinner's ready," called one of her sisters.

Doing some more stretches and cracking some joints in the process, she yelled back, "All right, I'm coming, and don't you guys dare eat everything before I get there!"

Hopping out of bed, Yolei quickly crossed her bedroom and was just reaching for the doorknob when the sound of someone loudly clearing his throat stopped her.

"May I please join you this time?" politely inquired Hawkmon from behind her. Yolei's family still wasn't too comfortable with the idea of living with a talking bird from another world, and so the girl had thought it best that she keep him in her room as often as possible.

"Hmmm…" She mulled over the thought for a few seconds before saying brightly, "Okay! I'm sure they've gotten used to you by now." 

Once again, the youngest member of the Inuoe household was about to join her family for dinner, this time with her partner digimon in tow, but then she heard a muffled beeping coming from her backpack.

"Huh?" Yolei halted in midstep and turned to look at her bag. "Now who could that be?"

She walked over to her backpack and rummaged through some folders to pull out a rectangular gray device. Yolei popped open the lid of her D-terminal and read the most recent e-mail on the screen.

__

Yolei,

I'm sorry to have to ask you to do this for me again, but could you possibly go to the Digital World right now and find Ken? He said he was just going for a walk, but something tells me that there's more to it than that. Please do this for me, Yolei. I know Ken hasn't been acting like himself lately, but that's why I'm so worried about him, as I'm sure you are, too. Please, Yolei. Please bring Ken back to me just like you did last time.

Wormmon

The bearer of the Digieggs of Love and Sincerity sighed before typing a message back. 

__

Hi Wormmon,

Don't worry--I'm on my way to the Digital World right now. I'll bring Ken back to you, you can be sure of that, and I'll make sure he stays there with you, even if I have to tie him down to the bed myself.

Yolei blushed as she typed this, but then she mentally slapped herself for thinking what she was thinking and continued with the e-mail.

__

In the meantime, you'd better grab something to eat; I bet you're starving. 

See you soon,

Yolei

Immediately after she had sent the e-mail, Yolei popped her head out her bedroom door and called, "Never mind, you guys. I'll eat later. Something's come up."

With that taken care of, she booted up her computer and activated the Digiport program. "Hawkmon, you ready?"

"As always."

"Then let's go! Digiport open!"

~~~

"Keep your eyes peeled, Aquilamon!" shouted Yolei over the rushing wind while she clung to the giant bird digimon's back with one arm. In the other arm, she held her red and white D-3 out in front of her face. "He should be pretty near."

"No problem," the champion-level digimon responded, examining the barren landscape beneath them. 

This time Yolei's search had led them to a rocky wasteland where there seemed to be no sign of any life whatsoever. Right now they were flying close to a bottomless gorge wide enough for two airplanes to fly through safely side-by-side. 

Up above, the sky was quickly turning into a midnight blue, and a few stars could be clearly seen. Night was fast approaching, and in consequence, the temperature was dropping at a rapid rate. 

'We had better find Ken soon before both of us catch pneumonia,' thought Yolei, hugging Aquilamon's feathery back.

Not long after she had thought this, her partner digimon spotted a silhouette standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking a particularly wide part of the gorge. "Look over there!" he called to her, nodding towards the shadowy figure. 

"That must be Ken!" she exclaimed in relief. "Let's fly in a bit closer."

Aquilamon nodded and obeyed, now gliding mere meters off the parched ground and coming in fast towards their target.

What happened next was a complete blur.

Once they were close enough, something dark and cylindrical came flying straight at them. 

Aquilamon barely had time to yell, "Watch out!" and pull up to protect Yolei before it clasped shut around his right leg, eliciting a screech of pain from the huge digimon.

"Aquilamon, what's going on?!"

His anxious rider could scarcely hang on as the bird digimon flapped his wings wildly, trying to steady himself. 

****

"Aquilamon!" commanded a sinister voice coming from the cliff down below. **"Bring that girl to me now!"**

"Wha--?" Yolei could hardly believe her ears. It couldn't be…could it?

The giant brown bird digimon froze in midair, and his eyes began to glow red.

"Aquilamon?!" cried Yolei, shaking the digimon's coat of feathers. "Are you okay?"

"I will do as you command, master," was all the reply she got from the seemingly hypnotized digimon. Yolei gasped in terror.

Immediately, Aquilamon flew up and looped around, twisting upside-down as he glided past the figure on the cliff.

Her grip on his back already weak, Yolei couldn't hang on any longer, and so she fell hard onto the dusty ground and rolled a few meters before coming to a painful stop face-down near the edge of the gorge.

****

"Now, go fly off somewhere far away in the Digital World until I send for you," ordered the same menacing voice.

"Yes, master."

Yolei barely managed to catch a glimpse of what had latched itself around Aquilamon's leg before he flew off. It reminded her of a Dark Ring, but whereas the ring had been short, this one was as long as a Dark Spiral and much thicker.

In no time, she heard heavy footsteps approach her from behind and stop mere centimeters from her. Yolei wasn't given much of a chance, though, to flip over and look up at the person next to her for suddenly he pulled her up by her long lavender hair, forcing her to scream out in pain.

Yolei instantly stood up as best she could on her sore legs and furiously yanked her hair out of whoever-it-was's clutches.

As she whirled around to angrily yell in the person's face, that same person shot out his black-gloved hand, catching her throat in a vice-like grip before she could utter a word.

Yolei coughed at the sudden lack of oxygen to her lungs but was now able to look upon the dimly lit face of her assailant.

And whom she saw left her frozen in shock.

***

Gaia: Look, Ma, I made a cliffhanger!

G: Psh! Some cliffhanger! It's obvious to everyone who the other person is.

Gaia: Be quiet and go back to your new job.

G: (mumbling) Fine, fine, fine. *climbs up a tree with a pitcher of lemonade in one hand* More lemonade, Gwen?

Gwen: *holds out glass* Thank you, G. It's about time you made yourself useful.

G: *growls and pours out lemonade before turning to the indigo-haired boy next to her* How about you, Ken?

Ken: AAHHHH!!! You must be some crazy author trying to poison me with lemonade so you can see me squirm and write it up in your next fanfic as self-torturing moment. *fends her off with a stick* You won't get away with it! Back, I say!

G: *blinks and calmly turns to Gwen* Any progress?

Gwen: Some. At least he talks in complete sentences now.

G: *looks at Ken who has now turned to reciting monologues from Hamlet* I don't know whether to think of that as a good thing or a bad thing.


	12. Chapter 12 :-/

~Reflection~

Disclaimer:  Eleven disclaimers already and I have yet to say who really owns Digimon.  Oh well. *just shrugs and says nothing more*

A/N: Sorry about the tardiness of this chapter.  The next one will be out sooner, though, because it's much shorter than this one. Ack! And I just realized I spelled Yolei's last name incorrectly in the Chapter 10. *turns to Gwen* Okay, I've made for that little oversight, so get back to checking the grammar in this chapter. (Gwen: Well you wouldn't have made that mistake in the first place if you had let me do the grammar check instead of clicking the ignore button all the time on the spellchecker.) ^_^;;; Pardon me *throws Gwen and a copy of this chapter for her to edit out the window*

***

Chapter 12

Cruel indigo eyes stared back at shocked scarlet.

Triumphant smirk met pained grimace.

 Staring up into the pale visage of the boy whose chokehold was draining the life out of her, Yolei could only sputter out a "K-Ke-en?" as she felt herself slipping in and out of consciousness.

No sooner had she spoken that name than he gave her throat one last tight squeeze and released his deadly grip on her.

Yolei collapsed to the ground in a gasping heap, both hands immediately flying up to her sore neck. 

The figure looming above her crossed his arms over his chest and turned his side towards her.

Now that oxygen was circulating to her brain, Yolei had the chance to take a better look at the boy she thought she could trust.  Ken was once again dressed in his former navy blue Emperor clothes, all right, but this time, his chin-length indigo hair remained flat, and he no longer adorned the bulky, violet-tinted shades.

**"Never, _ever call me that again," he warned slowly and menacingly.  Turning his back to her, he walked over to the edge of the cliff he had been standing on earlier and remarked a little more casually, _****"A suitable spot for a new base, wouldn't you say?  The walls of this canyon will guard it well, and the only way to access it would be to fly or climb down, giving me more time to see my enemies coming."**

"Wh-what?" Yolei coughed.  "You can't be serious, Ken!"  

**"I told you never to call me by that name! That part of me is gone for good," he seethed.  Turning around and marching back towards her, he ordered, ****"You will now refer to me as Emperor, Master, or Great One…whichever you prefer." **

Stopping mere centimeters from her, he stared straight at the shocked girl and gave her a hauntingly familiar smirk.

A chill ran up Yolei's spine.  Out of instinct, she might have fearfully done as he had commanded, but the throbbing pain in her neck convinced her otherwise.

"Fine, 'Great One, whichever you prefer,'" she spat at him sarcastically.  Lightning flashed in her determined eyes. 

The smirk was wiped off the Emperor's face as he clenched his fists in fury.  **"How dare you!"**

"How dare I?" she obstinately said, slowly getting to her feet.  "How dare _you nearly choke me to death and take control of my partner digimon like that with whatever it was you used." _

The Emperor's face eerily lightened up a bit**.  "So you noticed my latest creation, eh?  Pretty observant, aren't we?"**

He began to walk around her, like a wolf circling its prey, before continuing, **"Then again, it isn't all that hard to miss them.  I purposely made my Dark Bands bigger and more durable, in addition to more powerful, than my Dark Spirals or my Dark Rings so that they could stay on the digimon I wanted to control much longer.  It will be impossible for anyone but me to remove it, and the best part is they don't need to be within the range of a Control Spire to work. A stroke of genius, isn't it?"**

His gaze had never left her, as hers had never left his, while he explained his latest achievement.  The boy emperor's exposition now over, he stopped circling to wait and hear what she thought. 

It came soon enough.  "I'll give you a stroke, genius!" she snarled angrily.  "How could you betray us like this, Ken?  How--"

Before she could say anything more, the Emperor pulled out a black whip from beneath his dark blue cape and furiously lashed it across her chest.

Yolei cried out in pain and flew back at the sudden blow.  She landed hard a few meters away and lay still, unable to do anything but hug her stinging torso.

The scowling boy strode over and knelt down beside her. 

He then proceeded to coil his whip around her neck and pulled up tightly on the ends, forcing her head up to his.  

**"I'm _only going to say this one more time." He whispered to her, his voice deadly._****  "_Ken is gone; he has completely submitted to the darkness inside of him.  _I_ am the Digimon Emperor now, and you __will address me properly.  Understand?"  Every time he had emphasized a word, he tugged harder at the whip, momentarily cutting off her air supply each time._**

"I un-understand," she hoarsely croaked out.

**"Good."  He let her fall back down and was about to release her from the whip when she continued.__**

"I understand…that deep down…you're still Ken," she panted.  "The Digimon Emperor… hasn't taken over… entirely."

The Emperor arched an eyebrow.  **"Oh really?  And what makes you say that?"  **

"I'm not _that_ clueless…" She was still slightly out of breath, but she could speak fairly normally now.  "The Digital World allows us to project an image of how we picture ourselves upon entering," she stated matter-of-factly, sticking a finger in his face.  "If Ken weren't still a part of you, then you would have looked exactly the way you did before: crazy hair, gaudy glasses and all." 

The flat-haired Emperor chuckled and forcefully swatted her finger out of his way. ** "Very perceptive of you, Inoue.  I can see why Ichijouji was attracted to you."**

Yolei blinked in shock.  "Ken has feelings for me?"

**"Humph, no matter.  But riddle me this, _Yolei," he queried, pulling up on the whip once more, _****"how can you be sure you're right?  For all you know, I might have just wanted a change of look.  It doesn't prove that your precious Ken still exists.  Let me tell you something: when he submitted to me, his dark side, I merged with him.  He and I are now one and the same being, and there's nothing you can do about it."**

He smirked in triumph down at her, but instead of Yolei turning to despair, as he had expected, she looked at him quizzically and stared deep into his eyes.  "If Ken and you are supposed to be one and the same, why do you still refer to him in the third person?"

A storm brewed in the Emperor's midnight blue eyes, and his smirk transformed into a vicious scowl.  With a snarl of rage, he gave her a blow to the stomach with his gloved fist.

The wind knocked out of her, Yolei doubled over in pain.

**"You're too clever for your own good, Inoue."  He raised his fist above her head and was about to give her a fatal blow to the base of her skull when a sudden idea came to him.  ******

**"No," he purred, lowering his hand.  ****"I think I can make better use of you alive."**

He uncoiled the whip from around her neck, to Yolei's grateful yet apprehensive relief, and returned it to the folds of his cape.  

**"You're right about one thing: I haven't taken complete control over Ken, _yet."_**

He pinned Yolei's arms to her sides with his strong, gloved hands and hauled her up to her feet.

**"But I think I know of a way I can."**

The Emperor pulled the struggling girl closer as if confiding a secret.

**"You see, Kenny boy still has to experience one more dark emotion before I gain complete dominance over him: hate.  And wouldn't it be ironic if I made him hate the bearer of the Digieggs of Love and Sincerity, and coincidentally the one Digidestined that he truly loves?"**

Yolei gritted her teeth and hissed, "I'll never let you get away with this."

**"Oh, how original."  His sarcastic comment was followed by a tightening of his grip on her arms, making the weakened girl wince in pain.**

Then, averting his gaze to the side as if talking to the back of his mind, he called, **"Oh Ke-e-en.  I suggest you listen up because there are a few questions I want to ask Miss Sincerity here, and I think you'll be highly interested in her answers."**

Turning his eyes back to Yolei, he asked, **"Now, Ms. Inoue, isn't it true that at some point you hated Ken, I mean, absolutely abhorred him and swore you wouldn't forgive him for all he had done?"**

The Emperor was forced to shake her roughly before she was willing to respond.  "All right, all right, yeah, I did once, but that was all in the pa--"

He abruptly dropped her onto the dusty ground before she could finish. 

**"And isn't it true that you were extremely reluctant to accept Ken as part of your 'team' once he had turned into a goody-two-shoes?" He leered at her as she quickly tried to scoot away from him.  Smirking, he calculatedly strode after her like a lion stalking a wounded gazelle.**

"Of course most of us were, but we--"

**"Most of you were?  Hmmm, so you weren't the only one unwilling to forgive Ken after he so obviously turned to your side, to feel sorry for him after he had lost his only friend in the world?  I smell a conspiracy here."**

Yolei stopped scrambling away from him for a brief second and was about to object to his preposterous assertion, but the Emperor gave her a powerful kick to the side of her head to silence her.

**"How do we know you Digidestined didn't plot together and pretend to forgive Ken so that you could use him to help you do your dirty work?  How do we know that once you made sure there was no longer a threat from any power-hungry digimon you wouldn't leave him to fend for himself in a harsh world jealous of his lost abilities?  How do we know that you truly are his 'friends'?"**

Yolei clutched her bruised face throughout this and tried to fight back the tears of pain that begged to pour from her eyes.  She could already feel her throbbing cheek start to swell, and if she did manage to get out of this ordeal alive, she would have a lot of explaining to do to her family as to why some of her teeth were loose.

**"Some of his so-called friends from Tamachi Elementary have already shown their true colors.  I only wonder when you will show yours."  **

Enraged by all the pain he had caused her and now insulted by his implicit accusation, Yolei shot her head up and glared at him with a flicker of fury in her eyes.  One hand still covering her aching cheek, the determined girl did her best to struggle to her feet.

The Emperor laughed at her pitiful attempt and raised his arm in preparation to slap her back down to the ground. 

Driven to desperation, Yolei decided to do something she thought she would never do to any guy she liked.  Balling her right hand into a fist, she summoned the little strength she had left and leapt up with her right arm extended in front of her.  Before the shocked Digimon Emperor could react, she landed a hard punch square into his left cheek.

Her unforeseen attack took him by surprise more than hurt him, but he was still forced to reel several steps backwards.  

In the meantime, Yolei, who had lost her balance after hitting the indigo-haired boy, fell forward onto the dry ground breathing hard.  Proud that she had finally gotten a chance to pay him back for all the things he had put her through, she tried not to take any notice of the pain throbbing all over her battered body.

To Yolei's dismay, however, a low chuckling began to resonate not too far from where she lay, and in no time that quiet laughter escalated into a maniacal cackle.  

**"Well, that didn't take long.  You see, Ken: this is the true Yolei Inoue, one who isn't afraid to lash out at you to save her own worthless life."**

Yolei stared at him in disbelief.  Ken couldn't possibly believe whatever this guy said, could he?  This creep was twisting whatever she said or did into a boldfaced lie!

"Ken…don't listen to him! …Things aren't…what he says they are," she panted out as loudly as she could, hoping she could get through to the real him.

As she watched the Emperor slowly approach her, a look of loathing in his face, she hurriedly continued on, not giving up hope.  "Ken…we all really care about you…Cody, T. K., Kari, Davis," she gulped, "and I would never want to hurt you…unless it's for your own good."

His glare didn't waver as he reached down for her.  "We've forgiven you for what you've done; it's all in the past now.  What's important is that we help you now, in the present.  Let us help, Ken. Let _me help.  Trust me--"_

The Digimon Emperor had once again clamped his vice-like grip around the top of her neck, right below her jaw, and lifted her up into the air.

Yolei could feel the life draining from her as he squeezed harder and harder around her windpipe.  

**"I tire of your incessant babbling.  Why should Ken trust _you or anything you say?"_**

Her vision was fading, and she no strength left in her, but Yolei made one last attempt to say what was in her heart. 

"Because," she gasped out, "I love him."  

***

Gwen: AAAHHHHH!!!  

Gaia:  Yeah, I know, another cliffhanger.  I'm starting to enjoy doing this.

Gwen:  No, it's not that; you put in Yolei abuse!

G: *shrugs* So? It's not much worse than what Prince Darien did to Sailor Moon at the end of the 1st season.

Gaia: Japanese version, of course.

Gwen: But, but…*looks around helplessly* Shouldn't we up the rating because of this chapter?

G: Why?  It's not like you've let us add in any cuss words or anything.  *sticks tongue out at Gwen*  

Gwen: But still, there's a lot more violence.  *sticks tongue out at G, who drops a block of ice on it*

G: Gaia, what do you say?

Gaia: Awww, I don't feel like thinking right now.  Let's just ask the readers.

G: Okay.  *turns to readers*  (in a saccharine tone) Please look over the chapter and tell Miss Goody-Two-Shoes here *points to Gwen, who's trying to defrost the chunk of ice stuck to her tongue* that we don't need to up the rating.

Gwen: (grumbling) Imfpudent wretchthf.


	13. Chapter 13 :-S

~Reflection~

Disclaimer:  I don't own Digimon.  Tra la la la la.

A/N: Short chapter alert.  And no, it's not my muses' fault this time.  It just seemed like a good place to cut it off before the climax of the story.  Enjoy, though.

M/N (Muse's Note): Gwen: I'm seriously starting to think school's warped Gaia's mind, so pardon her for anything she's been writing lately. (G: You're just sore 'cuz the readers agreed with me and not you!)  *turns to G* Quiet you philistine! *turns back to the readers while G ponders what a philistine is* By the way, those of you who were peeved by that last cliffhanger are sure going to hate us for this one! *runs as torches and pitchforks are thrown at her* 

***

Chapter 13

The dark-haired boy's indigo irises dilated, and his eyes widened in shock.  Had he heard her correctly?  Did she just confess that she loved him?

He instantly let go of the near dead girl, who fell into a crumpled heap onto the ground.

"You--you love me?" Ken's voice choked out from the regally dressed boy.

Hope returned to her scarlet eyes, and Yolei weakly gazed up at him through cracked glasses.  Smiling feebly, she nodded her head and coughed.

The boy's irises shrank.  **"Ken, don't listen to her.  She's desperate and will say anything to save her life, even lie to you."**

"No! You're the liar," Yolei gasped out, trying to prop herself up with her arms.  "I've loved Ken ever since I've known him, and I would never lie to him."

The Emperor snorted. **"How can you be so sure you truly love him?  How can _we be sure you even have genuine feelings for him?  For all we know, you've probably had a schoolgirl crush on him for his brains or his athletic abilities ever since you laid eyes on him, just like all his other fawning fan girls.  That's it, isn't it?  You don't love the real him!" He beamed down at her triumphantly._**

Yolei sighed and looked down guiltily.  "You're right about one thing," she stated quietly.  "I did become one of his shallow fan girls the moment I had first heard about him."

**"Hah!  So the truth comes out.  Listen well, Ken."**

"I admit I was just another flirtatious fan of his--_once."  Yolei was gaining her strength back, slowly but surely, and she was now able to sit up and look him more fully in the eye.  "But ever since I've gotten to know the real him, the kind and caring person behind the genius and all the glory, I've realized that I love Ken more for him than I ever have about anything else."_

**"You really think that he is kind and caring?  That's a good one.  Even Ken doesn't believe that he's a kind-hearted person deep down inside."  Apparently having regained control, the Emperor reached down and picked the lavender-haired girl up by the collar of her blouse.  He leaned his face in close to hers before continuing,****  "Tell us, Yolei, if he really is such a goody-goody, why did he still torture and kill digimon as the Emperor even when he saw how much they were suffering?  You would think that he would have _some compassion towards anything, real or not, that was in agony if he truly were the person you think he is." _**

Though wincing from the pain caused by the sudden movement of her body, Yolei did her best to put on a determined face and readily defended the boy she loved, "Ken thought that this whole thing was a game, that what he did in the Digital World couldn't possibly have any real consequences.  He's only human, just like the rest of us.  I know that if I were playing a war game on my computer I wouldn't give a second thought to shooting down the virtual characters I was playing against because that's how you win the game.  But now that Ken's realized what he's done, he's atoned for it by saving the world he had caused so much misery.  That's how I know how kind he is--not by the mistakes he's made but how he's made up for them."

One moment, the imperially dressed boy's eyes were narrowed at her, and the next, his eyes softened.  However, his irises still flickered back and forth between being icy and small and being shining and wide.  Within seconds, his bitter scowl transformed into a mouth hanging open in confusion.  It seemed like there was a struggle going on inside of him, and both sides were equally matched.

As if by a will of its own, the Emperor's hand let go of Yolei, and his legs forced him to back away from her.  

Once again Yolei fell hard to the ground.  Her entire body aching and out of breath from that last speech of hers, she could do nothing but helplessly watch the tormented boy grip his head in both hands as Ken continued to fight for control of his body.  She imagined that the battle he fought internally was overwhelming because he fell to one knee and began to howl in pain.  The girl wanted to do something, _anything, but she didn't know what she could do, and even if she did, she wouldn't be able to help in her condition._

Finally, after it seemed as if his lungs would burst from all his screaming, the panting boy fell forward onto his hands, and the shaky voice of Ken gasped out, "Y-you really think so, Yo-Yolei?" 

From the same mouth immediately came a frantic dissent from his dark side.  **"No, it's another of her lies.  Don't listen to her."**

The Emperor screamed and clutched at his head as the Digidestined of Kindness struggled for control within him.  

Seconds later, his yells of pain subsided, and Ken's voice broke through.  "But you just told me to listen to her a few minutes ago."  A small smile crept over the pale boy's visage.  "Maybe for once I should do as you say."

Yolei's smudged face brightened.  "Yeah!  Take that, Emperor.  Come on, Ken, show this guy what you're made of.  I believe in you!"

The black gloves disappeared from Ken's hands.  Strengthened by the words of the one he loved, Ken chided his dark side. "It seems to me the only liar around here is you.  You're the one who's desperate and would say anything to save his life.  You're the one who measures my worth by my brains and athletic abilities."

The gold-trimmed cape on Ken's back disintegrated into bits of data.  

"I've had enough of your mind games.  It's about time I put you away!"  By now, Ken's entire Emperor ensemble had vanished, and all that remained was a familiar gray-clad figure crouched on the ground.  

"Woo hoo, you did it, Ken!  You've won!" Yolei cheered, trying to stand up but falling back to the ground. 

 "No…" Ken mumbled quietly, more like to himself than to the celebrating girl. "He's still inside of me…he's still fighting for control…and now he's mad."

Yolei's elated smile instantly disappeared.  "Don't give up, Ken!" she encouraged him.  "You can defeat this guy, just like you did before--I know you can!  Kill him once and for all."

Ken looked up and frowned.  "Kill him…?  But I…but he's--"

"Come on, Ken, you can finish him off," said Yolei, oblivious as to why he was so hesitant.  "This guy's a monster that doesn't deserve to live.  He's been a threat to us and the Digital World more times than I can count.  Destroy him and make sure he can never come back to plague this world again; I know you have the power to end his reign of terror for good."

The boy remained silent for some time, pondering Yolei's words.  Finally, Ken lowered his head.  "You're right; I can…" The Digidestined of Kindness slowly rose to his feet and solemnly backed away in the direction of the cliff he had been standing on minutes before.  

Suddenly he gripped his head in both hands once again.

**"Hah, him destroy _me_?!  That's a bunch of rubbish," came the Emperor's voice from the boy, much to Yolei's surprise. ****"I'm a permanent part of him; he can never be rid of me!  The only way he could ever destroy me would be if he…wait a minute!"**

The boy's pupils shrank in horror as a wave of realization washed over him.

**"No, he wouldn't!  He wouldn't dare!" **

Ken now turned and forced his body to run, hurriedly increasing the distance between him and Yolei.

"Ken…?" the weary girl asked warily, not liking the direction in which he was heading.  Giving it her best effort, she managed to stand on a pair of shaky legs and took a tiny step forward.

"Oh yes, I would," Ken hissed between clenched teeth to himself.  By now he had reached the farthest end of the cliff and was peering down into the abyss.  "The only way I can guarantee that you'll be destroyed and never come back…"

Ken looked over his shoulder at Yolei through large, tear-filled eyes.

"…is to kill myself," he finished gravely.

The glasses-wearing girl's eyes went wide, and she immediately began to stumble as fast as she could over to the resolute boy.  "What?  No…" It was barely a whisper, but soon it turned into a despairing cry.  "No.  No!  Ken, that's not what I meant.  You can't!  Please, you don't have to do it.  You can't let it end like this!  I won't let you.  I wouldn't be able to live without you—I-I love you too much!"

"And I you."

Putting everything she had left in her and more into her panicky sprint, Yolei tried to close the gap between her and the self-sacrificing boy, but it was no use.

She would never be able to reach him in time.

He faced forward again, staring his dismal fate right in the eye.  "That's why I can't risk putting you or anyone else in danger.  I'm sorry, Yolei, but as long as I'm alive, so is the Emperor inside me."

A single shimmering tear trickled down his face.

"Farewell, my love.  Until we meet again."

With that, Ken jumped as far out from the cliff as he could, making sure he fell into the heart of the eternal blackness.

**"No! NOOOOO!" his internal tormentor screamed desperately. **

"KEEEEEEEENNNNN!!!"  Yolei shrieked, as well, unsteadily running up the cliff and watching as the light of her life faded into the darkness.

Without letting up her pace, and without giving a second thought to what she was doing, Yolei launched herself from the edge of the precipice and followed after him.

Soon she, too, disappeared into the void, her cries mingling with the wailing winds blowing through the canyon.

And once again, all was still in Digital World.

***

Ken: *screams* You made me suicidal!!!  You're no different from the rest of them.  I'm out of here! *runs away*

Gaia: Wait, Ken, it's just a fanfic. *runs after him* A FANFIC!  It isn't real…!

Gwen:  Well that set my work back a few weeks.

G: Gah, we killed Kenny!  *giggles*  I've always wanted to say that!

Gwen: Is that all you can think about? Yourself?

G: *thinks for a second and then nods* Yeah, pretty much.

Gwen: *slaps forehead* Why do I put up with such incompetence?

G: *leans head on Gwen's shoulder* (mockingly sweet) Because you really care? *bats eyelashes*

Gwen: o_O;;; I'd better go and get my patient now.  *dashes off, letting G fall to the floor*

G: OW! *rubs bruised head*  What'd I say?


	14. Chapter 14 :->

~Reflection~

Disclaimer: (sung to "Deck the Halls") Digimon's not owned by me-e. Fa la la la la, la la la la.  I'm a fanfic writer, don't you see-e?  Fa la la la la, la la la la.  Please don't sue if you own the show-ow.  Fa la la, la la la, la la la.  Or I'll whack you with some mistletoe. Fa la la la la, la la la la!

A/N: Okay, this one certainly was a doozy all right. (G: But that's only because it has more flashbacks in it than a dubbed Cardcaptors episode.)  *glares at G, who promptly exits before she gets thrown out the window for the 137th time* Anyway, like my muse implied, I had to use a lot of scenes from the show for this one, a few of which I don't have the clips of and/or my brain can't remember clearly (darn school filled my head with junk!), so just bear with my ad-libbing and interpretation in some parts, 'kay?

***

Chapter 14

Falling, falling, falling for what seemed like forever….

'Am I dead yet?' wondered Yolei.  'No, I'm still alive…but I won't be for long…' The plummeting girl tried to push the grim thought out of her head.  'No, I've got to find Ken.  Maybe together we can think of a way out of this, but if not, at least then I won't die alone.'

Fighting against the wind rushing up at her, Yolei flailed searching arms wildly around in the darkness in hopes of finding Ken.

'Ugh, this isn't working.  Come on, Yolei, think!  He jumped down first so he's got to be somewhere below me, hopefully within reach…' Though not liking the idea of falling down faster, Yolei tucked her arms in and made her body as straight as possible to give her less air resistance.

Like a bird swooping down for its prey, the helmeted girl descended into the abyss at an even faster rate. 

'Exactly how far down is this thing?' Yolei thought after what seemed like ages.  'You'd think I'd have hit the bottom by now, or at least run into—what the…?'

The girl's brushing up against another falling body interrupted her musings.  Instantly Yolei reached her arms up and caught onto a still form.

"Ken?!" she yelled in disbelief.  "Is it really you?"

No response…

She readjusted her grip on the body and probed it with her hands.  The first thing she felt was an icy, closed-eye face framed with wildly flying hair. 

"Ken, can you hear me?  KEN!!!" 

It was no use.  He was out cold.

The girl sighed in defeat.  "Well, at least now you'll die peacefully…" Yolei murmured to him downheartedly.  "I guess that's some comfort…"

Sighing again, she held him close in a protective embrace.  "It's just too bad that the last words I hear won't be yours.  Good-bye, Ken."

Yolei closed her eyes, trying to will herself to sleep as well so that her death wouldn't be too painful.

All of a sudden, she felt herself land on something hard, but that something wasn't very hard itself.  Rather, it was feathery and moving the both of them upwards and away at a tremendous speed. 

Yolei's eyes immediately flew open.  "Aquilamon?!"  She cried in shocked yet joyful surprise.

"Yolei, are you all right?" came the concerned voice of her partner digimon.

"Oh my gosh, you have _no idea how glad I am to see you!" she blurted out.  After letting out a breath of relief and calming down a little, she scolded, "What took you so long?"  _

Aquilamon chuckled.  "Sorry, finding two falling humans in pitch darkness after breaking free of a mind-controlling device isn't the easiest thing I've ever done." 

"You broke free of Ken's Dark Bands? Wait a minute--Ken!"  Now that they were out of the gorge, she examined the freezing-cold boy in the dim moonlight.

Yolei barely heard her digimon as he explained how the band on his leg simply broke apart and how he flown back for her the second he could regain his bearings.  Instead she gazed intently at the unconscious boy whose deathly still face made her fear for his life.

"Come on, Ken, you can get through this.  I still believe that you're in there, and I know that you'll find a way to come back to me."

All she received in reply was an eerie silence.

~~~

"What is this place?" was the first thing that came to mind as Ken looked down at the nothingness beneath his feet.

Again, he was surrounded by darkness, but it wasn't the same kind of darkness he had found himself in the first time his inner demon had invaded his dreams.  This time he could actually see his pale hands and gray-clad body.

**"Isn't it obvious?  We're inside your mind, or should I say, our mind?"**

Ken whirled around at the sound of the menacing voice just in time to see the tall figure of the Digimon Emperor emerging from the blackness.

Shaded indigo eyes stared back at indigo.

Frown met frown.

"Does this mean I'm not dead?"

**"No, unfortunately."  The Emperor strode past Ken before continuing.  ****"I can still hear everything that goes on outside this body, as could you if you weren't so busy pondering the obvious.  That pitiful girl and her overgrown canary of a digimon saved us--though I would rather have had them let us die than spend eternity with a pansy like you." **

Ken snarled.  "Hey, it's not like I enjoy your company either."

Both turned their heads at the same time to glare at each other.

Shaded indigo eyes stared back at indigo.

Scowl met scowl.

**"Well excuse me for being an integral part of you.  If I had the choice, I'd have my own body and be off conquering the Digital World by now, but no, I get saddled with you, an insolent loser who doesn't know how to stay in the quiet place I stick him in!" **

"Like I would let you hurt anyone if you had a million bodies of your own!"  Ken shot back.  A resolute expression on his face, he then declared, "And even if you did, I'd make sure I defeated you a million times over like I did just now."

The Emperor clenched both fists at his side and growled, **"Don't think you've won.  As far as I'm concerned, the battle is still on between us."**

Whirling around with a flutter of his cape, he spread his arms out, causing a ripple to form in the darkness around him.  Instantly the blackness that had surrounded them disappeared and was replaced by a sandy, arid desert.

 _"Reset the Digital World?  What are you talking about, Ken?"_

"What?! Not again!"  Ken stared with wide eyes as the all-too-familiar scene played before him once more.  "How is it that you can do this when we aren't even in the desert?"

**"We're in your mind, remember?"  The Emperor snorted and dropped his hands.  ****"I can call up any of your memories at will and project them here.  Take this one for example: your pitiful downfall."**

Ken tried to tear his eyes away from the painful scene, but the accusing voices of his fellow Digidestined wouldn't leave him alone.

_"The Digital World is a completely real place, Ken.  It's not just something that's programmed into your computer."_

_"We tried to tell you that before, but you thought that we were trying to play some kind of trick on you."_

**"Have you forgotten already how much of a fool your 'friends' made you look?  Don't you remember how much of a quitter _you were--giving up our glorious plans after one miscalculated battle?  That's all you are, Ichijouji, a cowardly little quitter.  You gave up trying to gain more attention than Sam and so wished him dead, and here you are giving up after one lost battle." _**

Ken had had about enough of all this: all the horrible memories, the mind games, the possession by his darkside, everything.  His heart jumping to his mouth, he closed his eyes and yelled, "It wasn't just one lost battle!  It one of many meaningless battles, all caused by my foolishness!"

Suddenly the scene shifted to a rocky landscape in the Digital World.

**"What in the--?"**

In the distance, the two boys could see another indigo-haired boy retreating on an Airdramon and cursing the Digidestined for defeating him yet again.  Nearby, though, a group of familiar children and their digimon were cheering after another of their many victories.

"Of course, why didn't I realize this sooner?"  Turning on his darkside, Ken exclaimed, "This is my mind, and I have as much power over what memories we see as you do!"

The Emperor growled and clenched his teeth in fury. **"So you finally figured that out. Well give the genius a pat on the back, but it won't do you any good."**

The regally dressed boy raised one of his arms, and they were suddenly transported to a dark hallway lined with black metal plates.  

Before them stood a shocked Digimon Emperor, who was apprehensively watching a tall, blond boy casually rub a red spot on his cheek with one hand and then examine that same hand with a calm expression on his face. 

_"When you can't think of anything to say, do you always resort to fighting?"_

"What do you think you're trying to pull this time?" Ken muttered to his tormentor as he watched the Digidestined of Hope lecture his former self.  

_"That's your problem. You don't know when to talk or when to fight…Now's a good time to talk."_

**"Simple: if you won't hate that troublesome girl or yourself, then maybe you'll hate one of your other so-called Digidestined friends."**

_"On the other hand, it's also a good time to fight!" _

Both of Ken's halves watched as T. K. lunged at the shocked Emperor with his right fist and punched him squarely on the left cheek, sending him flying backwards a few meters away.

**"Nice 'friend' you got there, Ken," the Emperor poked at Ken, who winced in pain as another of T. K.'s blows connected with his past self's face.****  "Apparently Hope can't take his own advice.  If he were a worthy friend, he would have seen how terrified you were and given you a chance to talk, no matter what sins you had made."**

Just then, T. K. stopped his assault, his attention caught by the monstrosity lurking outside.

Quietly, Ken murmured, "He had every right to do what he did."  Then, facing his darkside, he said with more strength in his voice, "After creating that monster of a digimon, I deserved to have some sense knocked into me."

_"Hey Ken, remind me where I left off the next time I'm pummeling you into oblivion," called T. K. to the fallen Emperor as he rode away on Pegasusmon._

"But things changed since then--I've changed since then."  The air around them rippled, and they suddenly found themselves on a sidewalk in Odaiba on a chilly night.  Across the street, a blue-haired man wearing glasses stood next to a small yellow car and talked to a group of tired Digidestined after their battle with Daemon.

_"I'd better get you guys home.  Your parents must be in a panic by now, but there's one problem: I only have room for one more."_

Turning away from the car, an indigo-haired boy wearing a scarf and sweater offered, _"Well, maybe I should go take the bus then."_

"After I gave up being the Digimon Emperor, T. K. no longer had a desire to pummel me into oblivion anymore.  Instead, he proved to be a caring, devoted friend and accepted me as one of them."****

_"Go ahead!" T. K. chirped, pushing the reluctant boy into the tiny car.__ "Go on! You're a part of the team now, Ken."_

_"But what about you, TK?" the past Ken protested with concern._

_"My parents know all about the digimon stuff; don't worry about it.  My house isn't very far from here. I'll just walk home.  See ya later!"_

_"Thanks buddy," he replied, nodding his head solemnly._

**"Ugh, I think I'm going to hurl from that scene," spat the Emperor, dispelling the images before him with a wave of his hand.  ****"But no matter.  You say that they were all nice to you _after you had turned over a new leaf?  Don't be so sure.  Remember, not everyone accepted you once you had given up your reign as the Digimon Emperor."_**

With a wave of his hand, they found themselves in the middle of a green field riddled with Control Spires, some demolished while others remained standing.

_"Davis, I think Flamedramon could have taken out that Control Spire on his own," bitterly said a short, brown-haired child._

"Cody!"  Angrily, the present Ken turned to glare at his dark side.  His flaring indigo eyes clearly showed he was reliving the pain he had felt when he'd discovered that the young boy hadn't completely accepted him yet, as revealed by Davis and Yolei's failed attempt to trick them into getting along. 

_"Come on, Wormmon," said Ken's past self lowly.  __"It seems that not everyone wants us around."_

**"The youngest of the Digidestined was the last to recognize you as part of them.  As you can see, he had to be coerced to even destroy a simple Control Spire with you by his side.  You had shown them your intentions by this point, but he out of all of them was still unwilling to work with you."**

_"Oooh, Cody, you're so stubborn!" yelled Yolei at the young boy as Ken marched off._

**"Shouldn't he have swallowed his pride and assured you that he wanted you to work with them?  If he weren't willing to make an effort to befriend you then, after you had proved to them that you were their ally, how can you be so sure this distrustful little brat is your genuine friend to this very day?"**

Doing his best to calm himself least the Emperor feed off of his anger again, Ken started in a barely contained voice, "He may not have accepted me right away…" 

The scenery shifted and changed into a grassy field outside of a forest in the Digital World.

 Before them they could see the Digidestined laughing over Ken's joke about the possibility of Veemon catching Gatomon under the mistletoe at his Christmas party, and just beyond them, they could see another Ken nervously walking towards the same flat-haired child whose intent gaze never left the approaching boy.

"…but I don't blame him, not after all the terrible things I had done…" 

_"Here you go, Cody," said Ken, handing him an envelope.  __"You're invited, too."_

"…However, Cody eventually did come around."

_"Really?" the young boy asked, his face lighting up.  __"I'm glad I made it to your list."_

"He accepted my invitation when he could have just as easily made up some excuse and not come.  It was his choice to give me a chance and spend time with all of us on such a special holiday.  That's how I know he's really my friend."

It was obvious that the Emperor was less than pleased with Ken's ability to call up memories that rivaled his, but he wasn't about to give up.

**"Of course you do realize that all of the memories you've brought up occurred _after they realized they couldn't win without your help.  But how do you know that your 'friends' were telling the truth when they said they had forgiven you and that you could be their friend?  It all could have been a lie to make sure you didn't go astray."_**

Waving a hand in as calm a manner as he could manage, the Emperor brought them to the edge of a soccer field where two teams were fiercely competing against each other.

**"They say a person's real character shows through by how he treats you before he gets to know you, or before he discovers how valuable you can be."**

_"It looks like Ken Ichijouji is going for another goal," an announcer declared. _

On the field they could see a tall boy in green dribbling a soccer ball down the field at lightning speed.  Off to the side, though, a brown-haired boy was running his hardest to intercept him.

"Davis!" Ken gasped.

_"Oh no you don't," the leader of the Digidestined yelled as he slide-tackled the star of the Tamachi team._

**"Motomiya certainly wasn't afraid of hurting you, a well-loved athlete he didn't know much about, for the sake of a point that would have made no difference in their already lost game."**

Ken watched himself fall down hard onto the green field, his past self's lower leg beginning to bleed rapidly from the cut Davis had given him.  Surprisingly, though, Ken didn't seem affected by this scene as much as he had the others.  Instead he gave his dark side a knowing smile.

"But that's Davis' strongest trait.  Even when things seem hopeless, he's willing to do anything for what he believes in."

A wave of the hand by Ken, and they were once again on a street in Odaiba on a cold night, though with all the energy being shot between four powerful digimon, it wasn't as cold as it should have been.  In front of them stood an indigo-haired boy dressed in a sweater and scarf, screaming at the top of his lungs as his friends supported his outstretched arm, which aimed his dark digivice at the sky.

The same brown-haired boy they had seen earlier, this time wearing goggles, laid a hand on the past Ken's shoulder and yelled words of encouragement to his best friend.

_"Stay strong, Ken! I know you have a lot of pain and confusion inside of you over the things you did as the Digimon Emperor.  But you're not that person anymore, Ken.  You thought the Digital World was a game; you didn't realize that you were hurting living creatures.  But you've paid for your mistakes.  We wouldn't be where we are without your help.  You can't keep beating yourself up for all the things you did in the past, Ken."_

"You forget that a person's true nature also shines through in times of crises.  How he handles himself and what he does both show his real character."

_"You've got to fight it, Ken.  You're stronger than that.  Don't let fear and guilt rule your life anymore.  We're here with you!" _

"When things seemed hopeless, Davis was there by my side cheering me all the way.  He's a true friend through and through because he stuck by me as I faced my darkest demons, and if it weren't for him, we never would have survived--an acceptable trade off for a cut on the leg, wouldn't you say?" Ken turned to smile at his dark side.  Then he closed his eyes and slowly shook his head.  "I could never hate him."   

The Emperor let out a frustrated scream and started to change their surroundings, but Ken beat him to it.

"Who's next--Kari?" Ken raised his arm, and they were taken to the sandy desert once again.

_"I'm a monster! I can't believe what I've done," cried a crouched over Emperor._

_"It's hard to argue with you there, Ken," agreed T. K.__  "You've done some pretty horrible stuff."_

_"The important thing is, you've realized what you've done, and it's not too late to make a fresh start," Kari offered._

"Good ol' optimistic Kari," said Ken lightheartedly, "always looking on the bright side and always willing to give people a second chance if they've shown they're sorry for the crimes they've committed."

The Emperor let out another aggravated growl.  How dare that goody-two shoes use that same memory against him!

"Maybe you were going to try to make me hate Sam or my parents next."

With a wave of Ken's hand, one after another, memories of his family flashed before them.

_"Your bubbles always turn out perfect because you're so gentle.  Mine always pop because I blow too hard."_

_"Ken, while you were sleeping, your mother and I realized that we tried to make you more like Sam without really knowing it.  We're very sorry.  We should have seen the son we had, instead of spending our time constantly looking for the son that we lost."_

_"Forgive us!  All we're asking for is a second chance."_

_"Sam is gone, Ken.  We know that, but we don't want to lose you, too."_

_" Just be Ken.  Just be your sweet self. Ken, just try, just try. Please, for me."_

Then, once again, their surroundings returned to the familiar blackness.

"You see, there's no one you can make me hate!"  Ken smiled triumphantly and turned to see how upset his dark side would be.

However, contrary to what Ken had expected, the Emperor chuckled lowly, and soon that chuckle grew into deranged laughter.  **"Oh, Ken, Ken, Ken.  Don't be so naïve.  There's still someone left for you to hate."**

"Oh yeah?  Who?" he asked defiantly, unwilling to let him know how disappointed he really was.

**"Me," his dark side declared, stepping closer towards him.  **

Not liking the devilish look in the Emperor's eyes nor the way he approached him, Ken backed away from his tormenter slowly.

**"You really hate me, don't you Ken?  It's because of me your friends are starting to distrust you.  It's because of me your worm of a digimon is terrified of you.  It's because of me your girlfriend was nearly killed just now!" Brief images of the past few days flashed by him as he said this: Cody's piercing gaze, Davis' quizzical expression, Wormmon's cowering on his bed, Yolei's pained face…**

Ken gritted his teeth, trying his best to stem the rage building up inside of him.

**"Remember how easy it was for me to take over?  Don't forget, I can do it again just as easily as you gained control a few minutes ago. Face it: no matter how many times we fight this endless struggle, I'll still be able to come back whenever I want and cause even more suffering.  You might as well just give up.  It would be _so_ much more painless for the both of us."**

'I don't like to admit it, but he's right about one thing: there's no getting rid of him,' Ken thought dolefully.  'Now what am I going to do?  I could beat him down this time, but what about tomorrow, or the next day?  One day he'll win, and then my family and friends will be in danger.  And it's going to be all my fault!'

The Digidestined of Kindness was about to turn to despair, much to his dark side's pleasure, when a familiar voice came to him out of nowhere.  "Come on, Ken, you can get through this.  I know you can find a way to come back to me."

"Yolei!" Ken stopped his backing away and gave the image of the Emperor a determined look.  'No, for her sake, I can't give up like this!  I've got to think of a way to make sure he doesn't return, just like I did before.' 

**"Oh, give it up already!" his dark side exclaimed exasperatedly, stopping as well.  ****"Besides the fact that I can hear your thoughts, how many times do I have to tell you this, boy: as long as I'm a separate part of you, there's no way I'm leaving?"**

Ken's incensed expression suddenly turned into a questioning one. "Wait a second…a _separate part of me?"_

The Emperor's eyes went wide as he realized what he had just let slip.

"That's it!" Now it was Ken's turn to stride closer and closer to his dark side, who began to back away.  "I've been able to contain you all this time because I had acknowledged that you were an essential part of me.  Around the time I started to experience all these dark emotions, I didn't want to recognize that you were a necessary side to me but rather that you were a separate, evil entity--the Digimon Emperor--and once you had broken away from me, you fed off of my dark emotions.  Then after you thrived and kept me down long enough, you almost succeeded in completely assimilating me.  After all, you were readily willing to accept that there was an insignificant and weak kind side in you, just so long as it would give you control over my body."

All Ken had to do was look at the horrified Emperor's face to know that he was right.

"Now I know what to do to make sure you don't come back."  Without warning, Ken lunged at his dark side and caught him in a tight embrace. 

**"Wh-what are you doing?"** the regally dressed boy asked in a panicky voice.

 "Simple: I'm uniting with you again."

**"Wait! You don't know what you're doing!" The Emperor struggled frantically to get loose, but Ken's grip on him was iron-hard.  However, he did make one final verbal attempt to stop the boy from going through with his plan.  ****"How do you know that when we merge, your kind side will be strong enough to assume control?  You're taking a big risk trying to join with me this soon.  Remember, if you aren't the dominant side, I'll be in permanent control of this body once we're together again."**

"Well, that's a risk I'm willing to take!"  

A white flash of light emanated from between the two of them, and that was the last thing Ken remembered.

***

G: (panting) Are you…trying…to kill us…or something?

Gwen: (panting as well) Do you…really…want her…to answer…that?

Gaia: Sorry, I just wanted to hurry up with the end of the story as soon as possible.

Ken: (from behind them) I'm all for that.

G, Gwen, and Gaia: *are startled that he's there and turn to stare at him*

Gaia:  All right, who let the angsty bishie out of his padded cell?

Gwen: Don't look at me; I'm just--

G: Going to be dead if you say that line one more time.

Gwen: *closes mouth immediately* 

Gaia: Cut it out you two and help me put him back in before he hurts himself or goes Emperor or something.

Ken as the DE: Too late! *pulls out a whip and cracks it at them*

G, Gwen, and Gaia: AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!! *all run out of the room screaming*

DE: Mwahahaha! *runs after them cracking his whip*


	15. Chapter 15 :-)

~Reflection~

Disclaimer:  I don't own Digimon.  Boo hoo.

***

Chapter 15

High above the two humans and the giant bird digimon, the luminous moon took its rightful place in the starry sky while down below, the bleak landscape shifted from a barren canyon to a river flowing through a dimly lit meadow.  The night air had become colder than a Frigimon by now, but the lavender haired girl atop the champion-level digimon didn't care.  Her attention was completely focused on the unconscious boy she cradled in her arms.

"Come on, Ken, you can get through this.  I know you can find a way to come back to me," Yolei chanted over and over like a mantra.

Suddenly the boy glowed with a bright white light, which soon engulfed his entire body and nearly blinded the holder of the Digieggs of Love and Sincerity at his side.

Yolei raised a hand to protect her eyes from the brilliant radiance until she noticed the light dissipating almost as quickly as it had appeared.  She then lowered her hand in time to see the gray-clad boy fluttering open his eyes.  

"Ken?! Oh my gosh!"  She instantly reached down and tightly hugged the boy, whose air supply was immediately cut off, much to his surprise.  After her initial excitement had subsided, though, Yolei remembered something and warily said, "Wait a minute…"

She hastily backed off and looked him in the eye.  

"How do I know that it's really you?"

The indigo-haired boy coughed a little now that oxygen could get to his lungs before he replied, "After what you pulled, would the Emperor do this?"  

With that, Ken sat up and gave Yolei a kiss full on the lips.

Immediately, the weary girl's eyes grew twice their normal size in shock; she had been prepared for anything that could happen when Ken awoke, even if he woke up as the Emperor…but certainly not this.  

Soon enough, though, she relaxed and gladly returned his warm show of affection.

In the meantime, an embarrassed Aquilamon tried his best to keep flying straight and not disturb the two lip-locked young lovers on his back—which may have very well been the hardest thing he had to do throughout this entire ordeal. 

Finally, after several minutes, they parted, both of them almost out of breath.

"You're right," Yolei giggled dreamily.  "I don't think the Emperor would ever do that." 

In one of those rare moments, Ken smiled and blushed.  Yolei thought he looked kind of cute like that.

A few failed attempts by the two children at saying something later, they were spared any further awkwardness by the sound of the giant bird digimon clearing his throat.

"Pardon me, but can someone please explain to me what's been going on.  The first thing I remembered after that attack was a having a feeling that you two were in trouble and seeing a black band fall off my leg."

The lavender-haired girl sighed.  "It's a long story. I'll tell you about it later."  A sudden thought occurring to her, she turned back to Ken and asked, "By the way, what _did_ just happen here?  The Emperor said that he's a permanent part of you.  Does that mean--?"

Ken solemnly nodded.  "Yes, in a way he's still inside me.  But," he held up a reassuring hand to the concerned girl who opened her mouth to speak, "he won't be able to surface again.  The only reason why he returned in the first place was that I didn't want to accept my dark side as a part of me."

Yolei remained silent as he took a deep breath and continued.  

"That, compounded with me feeling a bunch of dark emotions all at once, was what allowed him to take over.  But now that I've recognized him as an integral part of me, I don't think I'll ever have to worry about my dark side taking over again."  The indigo-haired boy wrapped an arm around the slim girl's waist.  "And as long as you're with me, I don't think I'll ever have to worry about experiencing any more dark emotions for him to feed off of, if he ever happens to return."

It was Yolei's turn to smile and blush.  "I, uh…thanks, Ken," she said flusteredly.  "Just promise me that you won't ever become the Digimon Emperor, okay?"

Smiling, Ken answered, "I think that's a promise I'll be able to keep."  Then, looking over Yolei's shoulder and addressing her partner digimon, Ken apologized, "By the way, Aquilamon, sorry about what happened earlier." 

"That's okay, Ken…but don't you ever do anything like that again," replied Aquilamon in his gruff voice.

"Of course not," said the boy, relieved that bird digimon wouldn't be having him for lunch tomorrow.  "Oh, and Aquilamon…"

"Yes?" The champion-level digimon turned his head to face the boy.

"Do you mind if we stop by Digitamamon's?  There's something I've got to pick up for a friend of mine." 

"No problem!"  With that, Aquilamon veered left towards the restaurant of the famous chef digimon.

Throughout the rest of the ride, Ken and Yolei relaxed on the bird digimon's soft back, enjoying the beauty of the Digital World's night sky blissfully in each other's arms.  

***

Gaia: Man, I'm horrible at writing romantic scenes.

G: You got that right!

Gwen: I can't believe you made them kiss!

Gaia: *nonchalantly shrugs* So I forgot what I had originally planned to make Ken say so that Yolei would recognize him.  No big deal.

G: And no, we are not upping the rating because of this.

Gwen: Sometimes I can't believe you two.  Whoever said that majority rule was the best?  

G: You did.  Now, are you about done yet?  
Gwen: Yes.

G: Then shut up and let the readers go on to the epilogue.


	16. Epilogue

~Reflection~

Disclaimer:  Okay, last disclaimer for this story, folks.  Let's see…gotta make it a good one…(Gwen: How about "I don't own Digimon, so please don't sue"?) Okay that works—whatever she said.

A/N: Wow I can't believe I made it to the end!  (G: Neither can we.) *ignores her* Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me all this time and a special thanks to those who have reviewed my first fanfic after practically every chapter (i.e. Athena, blood thirsty digimon fan, moonwing lobo and metabee, and goldenstar555 among others.) Oh yeah, and thank you, Lady Jayde Une, for letting me post this fic on your great site.  (G: I can see why you're not writing the Thank You cards for Christmas this year.  Enough already! It's not as if you've won an Emmy or something. Just let them read the dang epilogue!)  ^_^;;;  One last thing, my apologies to those who aren't satisfied with the ending.  Being sick over the holidays and having to write this isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world.

***

Epilogue

Months later…

It was a hot, sunny day when Ken Ichijouji walked home from soccer practice.  He raised a hand to wipe the beads of sweat on his forehead as he adjusted the heavy backpack on his shoulders and looked up at the clear blue sky.

He may have been putting more effort into practice than he used to, but he could still outrun anybody on his team if he tried hard enough, even without his former 'Rocket' speed.

"Hey, Ken!" a tall girl yelled behind him and waved her hand.

Instantly the indigo-haired boy turned around, a wide grin rapidly growing on his face.  "Yolei!"

The bearer of the Digieggs of Love and Sincerity raced up to him and jumped into his waiting arms.

"What are you doing all the way here in Tamachi?  It's not as if I'm feeling sick or anything this time," Ken asked her in surprise.

"Awww, you mean I can't come over to see my boyfriend for no apparent reason?" she jabbed at him playfully.  

He let her go and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders as he continued on his walk home, this time with Yolei at his side.

For the rest of the trip, they both chatted about how everything was going with the other and frequently declared how much they missed each other, like typical young lovers.

As they entered the elevator in Ken's apartment building, though, Ken suddenly remembered something and hurriedly turned to rummage through his backpack.  

Yolei began to wonder if he had forgotten something at school, or if he were looking for the keys to his apartment or something to that extent.  She didn't have to wonder for long, however, because soon enough, he pulled out a piece of paper with a few red marks on it and handed it to her.

"What's this?" asked Yolei, puzzled.

"My last history test," Ken proudly declared.

"An A minus? That's great!" The lavender-haired girl threw her arms around him joyfully.

Smiling and patting her back, Ken said, "And it's all thanks to you, Yolei; you helped me study for it."

Yolei looked up and blushed.  "Oh come on, I was probably more of a hindrance to you than a help.  After all, I kept getting all those dates and rulers mixed up."

"But that's why I remembered them—it was because you made so many mistakes beforehand that I recalled them correctly on the test."

Yolei didn't know whether to be flattered or insulted.  A few seconds later it didn't matter what she felt for Ken leaned his head down and caught her lips in a long kiss that lasted the entire elevator ride.

So enwrapped were they with each other that they didn't hear the ring of the elevator announcing their arrival at Ken's floor or the sound of the doors sliding open.

"Awww, isn't this sweet?" came a saccharine voice from outside the elevator.

Ken was the one who broke their kiss and looked up—and his jaw nearly came crashing down to the floor at the sight of the person before him.  "MAMA?!?"

Yolei instantly pulled herself off the tall boy at his exclamation and jumped a few steps away from him, rubbing the back of her neck and blushing.  "Oh, um, hi, Mrs. Ichijouji," she greeted the friendly woman sheepishly.

Even though Yolei's and Ken's parents knew about their relationship and were okay about it, both children still felt uncomfortable about showing signs of affection in front of their folks.

"Oh, where's my camera when I need it?" Mrs. Ichijouji piped up cheerfully. 

Ken's face turned a brilliant shade of red. "Mom…what are you doing here anyway?  Aren't you supposed to be working or something?"

"Of course I am, but I forgot something at home and came back to get it.  Too bad it wasn't my camera…"

"Mom!"

"Yes I know, it's embarrassing, but you two just looked so cute at that moment."

Yolei cleared her throat and attempted to save the two of them any further humiliation.  "Well, I guess I should be heading back to Odaiba.  It was nice seeing you again, Mrs. Ichijouji—and of course you, too, Ken," she said hurriedly and stepped out of the elevator to make her way as quickly as possible to the stairs.

"Wait a minute, Yolei," called Mrs. Ichijouji to the lavender-haired girl, who stopped dead in her tracks a few paces away from them.  Then the woman turned to her son and said, "Ken, aren't you going to be a gentleman and invite her to dinner?"

This caused both of them to turn even redder, but the indigo-haired boy complied.  "Um, ah, Yolei, wo-would you care to stay and have dinner with us?"

It took some time for Yolei to get her head straight to think, much less speak.  "Well, since I don't have to watch over the store tonight…" she thought aloud and turned around, her face still slightly flushed, "sure, I'd love to.  I just have to call my parents, that's all."

"Oh, by all means use our phone," Ken's mother offered.  "In fact, you can stay over here until I come back to prepare dinner."  With that, she traded places with Ken in the elevator, which miraculously wasn't called away by anyone else throughout this entire incident.  "I'll see you two soon," she chirped as she pressed the button to go down and the elevator doors started to slide shut.

The two Digidestined bashfully waved good-bye to her until they made sure that the elevator was heading down.

"My, that was pretty awkward…" Yolei bluntly stated after a few seconds of silence between them.

"Yeah, that's my mom for ya," said Ken, giving a short, nervous laugh.  "How about we go in and you make that phone call?"

"Oh yeah, right," the girl agreed.

Taking her arm in his, Ken teasingly escorted Yolei to his apartment, where she called home the minute Ken showed her where the phone was.  

In the meantime, the former child prodigy entered his room, was nearly tackled down by his partner digimon, and spent the entire few minutes that Yolei was on the phone assuring Wormmon that everything went okay that day.

By the time Ken had pried the little green digimon off him and set him on the bed, Yolei strolled into his room and looked around.  "Wow, even though we've been going out all these months, I think this is the first time I've been in your room since that one night I fell out of your computer," she commented.  Then, something shiny on his desk caught her eye.  "Hey, you still have that mirror I gave you."

She walked up next to him and both looked in the silver, oval-shaped mirror at the same time.  

At that instant, the incompleteness that Ken had felt the first time he peered into the mirror was made whole as both his and Yolei's reflection filled up the entire looking glass.

"You know," she stated, "I've always thought this mirror would have been better off as a picture frame." 

Scarlet and indigo eyes stared back at scarlet and indigo.

Two contented smiles met two contented smiles.

***

G: (cheering) Finally it's over!

Gwen: Good, we were starting to run out of running gags to do at the end of these chapters.

Gaia: I'm thinking of writing a sequel to it, though…

G and Gwen: What!?!

Gwen: *faints*

G: But why???

Gaia: Well, since I had to rush the end of this, I didn't get a chance to do all the things I wanted to do with Emperor Ken.

G: Are you insane?

Gaia: Well…

G: Never mind.  C'mon, Gaia, who's gonna want a sequel from you, anyway?  Wasn't this story torture enough?

Gaia: *angrily kicks G out the window* (calming down and turning to readers) Well, what d'ya say?  If I get enough responses, I'll probably put up a preview of the sequel at the end of this story some time soon so y'all can see if it's worth my time to write it.  'Til then, see ya! 


	17. Preview of Sequel

Preview of Sequel

Disclaimer: I have to do one for this too?  Aw, fudge it, just look at the one from the Epilogue.

Gaia: Hi y'all.  Okay, this is just a rough draft of a scene in the sequel I'm leaning towards writing, so feel free to make any comments or anything while it's still not a finished product.  

G: Or bring her to her senses and tell her it's not worth it now before she actually starts writing it.

Gaia: *picks G up by the collar of her shirt and--* 

G: Hey, wait, this gag is getting old.  Can't you think of anything new to do to me?

Gaia: *thinks* Hmmm, you're right.  Since this would be new story, I need something new to do. *thinks some more and light bulb turns on above her head* I know! *stuffs G into a cannon and blows her out the window* 

Gwen: Looks like someone's been at the Secret of Mana again.

Gaia: *glares at Gwen* Did I hear you say something? 

Gwen: *closes mouth and hurriedly exits*

Gaia: Thought so.  So, anyway, yeah, tell me what you think, whether it's good, bad, or indifferent.  Just to let you know, this is pretty much all I have as of now along with a rough outline my muses and I drew up, so it may be quite a while before I actually post a sequel if I do decide to write it.  By the way, to those of you who would prefer that I don't write a sequel, I'm sorry in advance if I go through with this.  I know it might not be as good as "Reflection" was—

G: (from far away) You call that good?!

Gaia: *ignores her* but think of it as a challenge I'd like to attempt.  You don't have to read the sequel if you don't want to, but at least give it a chance.  It seems like it will be more action-oriented than Kenlei-centered, though, just to warn you.

G: *walks in covered with soot* I think I speak for all readers when I say shut up and let them read this thing.

Gaia:  Fine, fine, shutting up right now.

(Untitled so far)

Summary: He said he would return, and he did.  Now Daemon has kidnapped Yolei and demands that Ken come to him as the Digimon Emperor.  Is Ken willing to sacrifice his kindness to save her?

(BTW, this will take place four years after "Reflection," and Ken attends the same high school that Yolei, Davis, TK, and Kari go to.)

***

Being struck by lightning would have felt good compared to this.

Ken reread the e-mail for the billionth time since he had opened it.  It was almost as if he wanted to burn the message into his brain.

_Ken Ichijouji,_

_I have taken the Digidestined, Yolei Inoue, hostage.  If you ever want to see her alive again, meet me in the Digital World twenty-four hours after this message was sent at the coordinates shown below.  Come alone and as the Digimon Emperor.  If you do not comply with any part of this, she will die, and I will simply keep taking Digidestineds until you do.  Remember, you have only until 24 hours after this message was sent._

Daemon 

That monster!

Ken would have punched a hole through his monitor if it weren't his most convenient way of getting to the Digital World.

For the millionth time in a half hour, he looked at the time the e-mail was sent.

_3:00 P.M. GMT_

That meant midnight in Tokyo time.

Darnnit! 

He quickly darted his eyes once again to the clock on his desk.

6:06 P.M.

Only five hours and fifty-four minutes left.  

Why didn't he figure out that something was wrong when Yolei failed to show up at school today?  How come he hadn't heard about this until _now_? 

Finally, Ken tore his eyes away from the screen and began to pace his room.

He couldn't believe it.  Just yesterday, the light of his life was poking fun at him for doing worse than her on their last history test, and now she was gone in an instant.

Oh, why he couldn't he have read this e-mail earlier?!

He stopped to pound a fist against the wall before resuming his pacing.

'That's right,' he thought angrily, 'Wormmon wanted me in bed by midnight last night, and I've been too busy with school and practice all day. Stupid soccer, stupid school, stupid, fussy, mothering worm…'

The Digidestined of Kindness halted in mid-step, his eyes wide.  

'Wait, what am I thinking?  How could I think such things about Wormmon?'

As if on cue, the aforementioned digimon crawled into the room.

"Ken, your mom needs your help in the kitchen.  Apparently a small digimon like me can't—Ken, what's wrong?" Wormmon questioned as soon as he saw his partner's face.

"Nothing, Wormmon," he hastily said and headed for the door.  "I just need to step out for a few minutes that's all."

The indigo-haired boy grabbed the sweater off his doorknob and made a dash for the front door as soon as he had exited the room.

"Ken? Ken! Where are you going? It'll be dark soon," Wormmon cried after him.

"I need some time alone to think.  Don't worry about me," he replied a bit curtly.  Then to his parents, he called, "I'm going for a walk in the park.  I'll be back soon."  With that, Ken was out the front door and down the hall before Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji could find anything to say.

"Ken…?" whispered a worried Wormmon.  Curious, the rookie-level digimon, scurried over to his partner's desk.  "Now what could have happened to make him so upset?"

It didn't take long for him to find out.  The moment he had crawled onto his partner's chair Wormmon read the message left on the boy's computer screen.

Almost as shocked as the boy was by the e-mail, the only thing the little green digimon could manage to say was "Uh, oh."

~~~

The cool spring breeze on the dark-haired boy's sweaty face would have felt good if he didn't have so much on his mind.  Above the district of Tamachi, the sun was dipping slowly down into the horizon, turning the sky a blazing orange-red, and children were already leaving the local park.

Ken, on the other hand, wasn't about to leave anytime soon.

After sprinting all the way over here from his apartment to vent his anger, he decided to take a quiet walk along the pond to calm down. 

He silently kicked a pebble into the small body of water and caused the still surface to ripple. 'What am I going to do?' the Digidestined of Kindness thought despondently,  'It looks like I have no choice but to show up as the Digimon Emperor. But I'm not him anymore; Yolei and I made sure of that!  And Daemon's no fool--he'd see right through me if I just posed as the Emperor.'

Ken let out a frustrated growl and punched a nearby tree, which shook under his forceful blow.  The boy's knuckles began to sting and turn scarlet, but that was the least of his worries now.   

Sighing, Ken leaned his back against the same tree and looked down at his feet.  'If I were the Emperor, maybe I would be able to think of a way out of this,' he pondered wistfully, 'but I can't become him again.  He was a tyrant Yolei helped me put away for good.'

**'Or so you think.'**

Ken jerked his head up. "N-no, it could possibly…"

**'Oh yes it could my dear _Emperor_.'**

The boy's eyes landed on the pond, and, an idea forming in his mind, he instantly headed for it.  Once he reached the edge, he kneeled on the bank and fearfully peered into the reflecting waters.

Shaded indigo eyes stared back at indigo.

"Not again…" Ken gasped.

**"You took the words right out of my mouth," **his reflection commented,** "literally and figuratively." **He smirked.  **"Let's see, recognition of me as a separate entity, check; dark emotions, check; possession of body by me, soon to be check."**

"Oh, no you don't." The boy started to stand up to back away. "I made a promise with Yolei never to become you again." 

**"Not even to save her life?"**

That stopped Ken in his tracks.  The Digidestined of Kindness simply stood there, his head still looking down into the pond at the Emperor.

**"Face it.  This is the only way to get her back from Daemon."**

"No!" Ken nearly shouted, luckily not drawing attention from the passersby.  "There's got to be another way."

**"Yeah, run like a scared coward and let the bimbo die; try to dress up as me and watch her die; have a Bakemon pose as me while you try to save her, utterly fail because you underestimate Daemon's intelligence and watch her die anyway…ooo, didn't think of _that_ one did you?"** the image of the Emperor toyed with him.**  "Sure, there's lots of other ways to solve your problem, but not all of them will be very pleasant."**

Ken clenched his teeth and balled his hands into fists in fury, but the Emperor simply continued to prod him.  **"Come on--look at your options.  Your best chance is letting me take over.  What, you don't think you're strong enough to defeat me once you've satisfied Daemon? Oh yeah, that's right, you probably aren't, but didn't you once say, **'Well, that's a risk I'm willing to take!'**?"** he quoted in Ken's own voice.

Ken turned away from the pond, but the voice of his dark side continued to taunt him in his mind. 

'Will you stop being so stubborn and think for once?  What's more important to you, a promise with that meddlesome girl or her life?' Then a little less harshly, the voice in his head soothed, 'Listen, Kenny boy, I'll just take over for a little while—I swear.  You can always regain control again like you did last time; it's not as if this will be permanent.  You know there's no other way to save her.'  

The Digidestined of Kindness didn't want to admit it, but his dark side was right.  There was no other way.

Sighing in surrender, he turned back to his reflection in the water and hissed, "Fine, I'll let you take over—but only for a short time, you understand?"

**"Perfectly."** The Emperor smiled maliciously.  

In the distance, the sun had just set, and the sky was turning a dark shade of midnight blue.

"So, what do I have to do to give you control?"

**"That's no problem.  One more dark emotion should do the trick.  How about experiencing hate?"**

Ken hesitated."The one emotion you couldn't evoke from me before?"

The image in the water nodded.  **"Come on.  We don't have all night.  It's the fastest and easiest emotion to experience.  Just think of someone to hate."**

There was no hesitation on Ken's part for this one.  "That's simple.  I hate Daemon."  

That was all the Emperor needed to hear.

***

A/N:  You know, I was just looking over the outline of this, and I've found that the sequel has a lot of holes to be filled up, not to mention a lot of research into the evolutions of the Digimon.  Then there's school, which promises to be a bear when I get off from Winter Break…(G: What she's trying to say is this sequel, if it does get written, won't even be close to ready any sooner than Spring Break.)…er, yeah, what she said.  ^_^;;;.  Sorry, 'bout that, but I'll try to get it out ASAP, hopefully sooner than Easter, but I'm not making any guarantees.    


	18. Out-takes

Disclaimer: (G: Don't tell me you're gonna cop out on this one like you did in the preview.) Nah, Digimon's not mine and neither is the Digi-Bloop That concept among many other things that are mentioned here.

A/N: Okay, this is really just a sorry excuse for me to repost this story for anyone that wants to read my sequel, but I also thought it would be kind of fun to see what would happen if the characters didn't say or do what they were supposed to in my story.  So, here are some out-takes from the production of "Reflection." BTW, this is basically going to be in the style of Hikari Takaishi's Digi-Bloop That series, which I found hilarious.  Sorry if this sucks; this was kind of a last minute idea my muses gave me before posting my sequel.  Try to enjoy my pathetic attempts at humor, though.

***

Out-takes

Chapter 2:

(Ken writing e-mail)

Ken: (typing) Hi guys, sorry I can't join you today in the Digital World. You see, this fanfic writer, Gaia Lao, is forcing me to be a character in her really cheesy, angst story, so I'm stuck here all day and will probably be nauseous by the end of it.  If you guys could come and rescue me that would be much apprec—

Gwen: *snatches D-terminal away* No messages asking for help, Gaia's orders.

Ken: *pouts*

Chapter 3:

(Ken's dream)

Voice: I should sound familiar. You've known me for quite some time.

Ken: Wait, don't tell me…you're the Tooth Faerie, right?

*the sound of a voice actor face-vaulting can be heard*

-Take 2

Ken:  Santa Claus?

Gaia/director: Cut!

-Take 3

Ken: Mama?

Voice: Do I sound like yo mama?

G: *pops head in* Yo mama's so fat that when she sits around the house--

Gaia: *hits G over the head with a mallet before she can finish* Cut.

-Take 4

Ken: You can read my thoughts?

Voice: (mumbling) Yeah, only me and everyone else reading this stupid fic.

Gaia: (ears perking up) What was that?!

Voice: Uh,…er, this stupendous fic, yeah, that's what I said, everyone reading this stupendous fic.

Gaia: Cut anyway.

(scene in which Yolei gives him the mirror)

Ken: Th-thank you, Yolei. You really shouldn't have. *looks down at shoes* I don't deserve this.

Yolei: Nonsense! I got it on sale anyway; it only cost me 500 yen.

Gaia: Cut!

-Take 2

Yolei: It only cost me 1000 yen.

Gaia: Cut!

-Take 3

Yolei: It only cost me 1500 yen.

Gaia: (getting slightly angrier) Cut!

…

-Take 10

Yolei:  Um, it was only 5000 yen?

Gaia: (much angrier) Cut!

…

-Take 50 

Yolei: Okay, fine, I found it in the store's back room.

Gaia: (now really ticked) Cut, cut, cut!  Yolei, for the last time, cut that out and stick to the script!

(Ken calling after Yolei)

Ken: Yolei!

Yolei: *is in mid-turn* 

Ken: (blushing) Your undies are showing.

Yolei: *blushes and hastily pulls up pants*

Master Roshi/Kamesennin: *runs in and smacks Ken upside the head* Fool!  Why'd you have to tell her?

G: *runs in and smacks Ken upside the head* Why were you looking _there_ in the first place?

Gaia: o_O Er…cut…*grabs a megaphone* Will all characters who are not in Digimon please get the heck out of my story!?

-Take 2

Ken: Yolei!

Yolei: *turns around* 

Ken: You know, you're pretty cute yourself.  Wanna go for a cappuccino after this shoot is over?

Yolei: (beaming) Why wait?  Let's go now.

Ken and Yolei: *exit arm in arm*

Gaia: Hey, we're not done yet! *runs after them*

Chapter 4

(Wormmon trying to get Ken to go to bed)

Wormmon: Are you sure you'll be all right?  It's getting late, and you could use a good night's rest.

Ken: Aw come on, Wormmon, what could possibly happen?  My dark side suddenly showing up in Yolei's mirror and forcing me to go to the Digital World where I'll ultimately become the Emperor again?

Gaia: Cut!  Ken, let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

(Ken noticing something in the mirror)

Ken: *looks up and sees only his reflection*

Gaia: Cut!  What the heck happened to the Emperor's image?  Who's in charge of special effects here?

Davis: *waves from window of special effects booth*

Gaia: Oh lord, no!

-Take 2

Ken: *looks up and sees a big purple dinosaur* AHHHHH!!! No, anything but that! *dives under desk*

Davis: *snickers*

Gaia: Note to self, remember to show Ken a picture of Barney every time I want him to shriek like a girl.

-Take 3

Ken: *looks up and sees a picture of Kari in a bikini*

Gaia: Ken, you pervert!

Ken: (panicking) It wasn't me!

Davis: Whoops! So that's where I put that.

Tai: *runs into the special effects booth and grabs Davis by the collar* Where the heck did you get that?!

Davis: I-I, uh, um…er, T. J. gave it to me! Yeah, that's it!  It's all his fault!

Tai: *runs off to kill T. K.*

Gaia: Davis, why are you even doing the special effects anyway?

Davis: Izzy was supposed to do this stuff, but he got sick, so being the nice guy that I am, I decided to fill in for him.

Gaia: (flatly) Wonderful.

Chapter 6

(Yolei falling through Ken's computer)

Yolei: *falls on top of a half-dressed Ken* Ooo, I think I like this part.

Gaia: Cut!  Sorry Yolei, but we're trying to keep the story PG here.

-Take 2

Yolei: *falls on top of Wormmon*

Gaia: Cut! Wormmon, you're supposed to be asleep in Ken's bed!

Wormmon: (squirming out from under Yolei) But I got thirsty.

-Take 3

Yolei: *falls on top of Master Roshi* Ew! What's this pervert doing here?!

Master Roshi: Enjoying the view?

Yolei: *slaps him and storms off*

Gaia: Okay, who keeps letting that guy in?

G: *whistles innocently and sneaks out of the room*

-Take 4

Yolei: *falls onto the floor*

Ken: What the--? Yolei is that you?

Yolei: *sits up and glances behind her, only to see a completely naked Ken* Oh my--! *turns extremely red*

*A horde of fangirls stampedes in and mobs Ken*

Gaia: Cut! Cut! Cut! Ken, next time dress faster.

-Take 5

Yolei: *glances up to see Ken dressed in a tuxedo*

Ken: This fast enough for you?

Gaia: (mumbling) Everyone's a comedian.

Chapter 7

(Ken's dark side showing him his past)

Ken's dark side:This is merely a shadow of your memories, boy. You can do nothing but watch.

Ken: Really? *goes up and makes faces at Cody who doesn't even flinch* Hah, you're right! I bet they can't hear me either. *walks up to T. K.* (to T. K.'s face) Hey, T. K., you know that fake vomit you found in your hat last week?  Yeah, I put it in there.  That'll teach you to wear that stupid bucket on your head all the time. *next goes over to Kari* You know, you really do look hot in that bikini…

Cody: (whispering to T. K.) So when should we tell him we're only pretending that we can't see or hear him?

T. K.: (slightly ticked but still whispering back) We can't, Gaia's orders.  But then again, why should we?  This is starting to get interesting.

Ken: (to Davis) Man, you've got to hook me up with some of those pictures.  I wonder if you have any of Yolei—

Gaia: *sees Yolei turning a fiery red* Cut!  All right, Ken that's enough out of you.  

(Ken's dark side making him watch the scene over again)

Ken: Not again! Stop this! Why are you replaying these horrible memories?

KDS: *shrugs* Eh, I'm bored.

Gaia: Cut!

-Take 2

KDS: Now, now, Ken. We have to give the fangirls their Ken torture, don't we?

Ken: Yeah, but it doesn't mean I can't complain about it.

Gaia: Cut!

-Take 3

KDS: Now, now, Ken. Didn't your soccer coach ever make you watch videos of other teams' games over and over again so that you could study your enemy?

Ken: No.

KDS: Oh, never mind then.

Gaia: Cut!

(Ken seeing shadow in desert)

Ken: *hears his name and spies…a big purple dinosaur* (shrieking like a girl) NO!!! He's here to get me. *runs off at faster than "Rocket" speed*

Gaia: Wow, I think he just set a new world record.

Gwen: At the hundred meter dash?

Gaia: No, at producing the girliest scream ever.

Gwen: Oh.

(Ken's dark side giving the last word)

KDS: Fear is a powerful weapon, Ken.  You can see how girly it made you sound just now.

Gaia: Cut!

Chapter 8

(Ken turning in his quiz)

Mr. Morita: Quiet! No talking! *turns back to reading…a Playboy magazine*

Gaia: Cut!  Mr. Morita, where did you get that? *sees Master Roshi sneaking out of the room out of the corner of her eye and pulls out a walkie-talkie* Security, there's a dirty old man lurking about the set.  Do you mind kicking him out and making sure he doesn't come back?

G: (on the other end of the walkie-talkie) No sweat.  *hides Master Roshi in a broom closet* Hehehe.

-Take 2

Mr. Morita: But are you sure you don't at least want to check it?

Ken: *shrugs* Why bother?  Gaia's gonna make me get a 100% no matter what I write on it.

Gaia: Cut!  By the way, Ken, what did you write on it? *snatches quiz away* (reading off paper) "This story is torture.  Someone please save me.  The author is completely demented." *turns to Ken* Sorry, buddy boy, but flattery isn't going to get you any less pain in this story.

Chapter 9

(Deciding on team captains)

Ken: (turning to Davis) I'm up for it. How about you, my _worthy adversary_?

Davis *blinks and then screams and points* AH! It's the Emperor!

Gwen: Wow, I didn't know Davis was that perceptive.

Gaia: He's not. *gestures to tall man wearing sunglasses standing behind Ken* (sighing) Yamaki, what are you doing here?

Yamaki: *smirks like the Digimon Emperor* Just giving you a warning that you have 30 minutes to finish up here.  We've reserved the park to shoot a scene for Digimon Tamers at that time.

Gaia: Yeah, yeah, but could you at least not freak out my characters in the meantime?

Davis: (still pointing) It's really him.  He's got the smirk and shades and everything.

-Take 2

Davis: (thinking) Whoa, now this is weird. Ken hasn't called me that since…last week when he challenged me to a round of rock, paper, scissors.

Gaia: *face-faults* Cut…

(T. K. and Kari following after Yolei)

T. K.: We'd better hurry up before Davis has a fit about us lagging behind.

Kari: (giggling) Right! We wouldn't want to give him any ideas about us.

Tai: *runs in* There you are, Takaishi! Get away from my sister! *starts chasing him*

T. K.: I don't know what this is all about, but I got a feeling it isn't good. *runs off the set with a very angry Tai hot on his heels*

Davis: *jogs up to Kari* Hehe, now it's just the two of us, Kari.

Kari: *starts chasing after Tai* Tai, whatever you do, don't kill him!

Davis: *pouts*

Chapter 10

(Ken using Armadillomon to make a goal)

*ball completely misses Armadillomon*

Gaia: Cut! Ken, I thought you were supposed to be good at this.

Ken: Hey, it's not my fault! H-he moved.  Yeah, that's it!

Armadillomon: Did not!

Ken: Did too!

Armadillomon: Did not!

Ken: Did too!

Armadillomon: Did not! Did not! Did not!

Ken: Did too! times infinity.

Armadillomon: Did not! times infinity plus one!

*they go on like this for five minutes*

Ken: Did too! times…um where did we leave off?

Armadillomon: Beats me.

All but those two: *face-vault*

Gaia: Cut…

-Take 2

*Armadillomon moves (for real)*

Ken: See? What'd I tell ya?

Gaia: Cut.

-Take 3

*ball bounces off Armadillomon and hits Ken in the face*

Gaia: Ouch, that's gotta hurt.

-Take 4

*ball bounces off Armadillomon and hits Davis in the face*

Davis: Ouch, that hurt!

Gaia: Cut!

-Take 5

*ball bounces off Armadillomon and hits T. K. in the face*

T. K.: Ouch, that was painful, that was excruciating! Eh, it wasn't that bad.

Gaia: Cut!

-Take 6

*ball bounces off Armadillomon and hits Barney in the face*

Ken: All right! That had better hurt!

Gaia: Cut!

-Take 7

*ball bounces off Armadillomon and flies up into the sky, never to be seen again*

Gaia: Well that was rather anticlimactic.

Chapter 12

(Yolei talking to the Emperor)

Yolei: Ken has feelings for me?

Emperor: Like, duh.

Gaia: Cut!

-Take 2

Emperor: Humph, no matter. But riddle me this, Batman—

Yolei: Batman?  You're the one dressed up in the suit and cape, and you're calling _me Batman?_

Gaia: Cut.

(Yolei taking a swing at the Emperor)

Emperor: *takes a step back and lets Yolei fall to the ground*

Gaia: Ken!

Emperor: Hey, I'm not supposed to be Ken remember?  This is part of my character.

Gaia:  Yeah, but we can't let you have all the fun.  So stop trying to be a smarty pants and let her hit you!

-Take 2

Yolei: *misses and falls on top of the Emperor* Ooo, I think I like this part.

Gaia: Cut! Yolei, what did I say about keeping this PG?

-Take 3

Yolei: *slips and crotches the Emperor*

Emperor: (doubled over and shaking on the ground) The…pain…

Gaia: Cut!

Chapter 13

(Ken jumping off cliff)

Ken: *trips and falls flat on his stomach*

Gaia: Cut!

-Take 2

Ken: *jumps but lands on other side of gorge*

Gaia: Cut! Ken, this is not "The Matrix."

-Take 3

Ken: (preparing to jump)

T. K.: *comes running up from behind, apparently not seeing Ken, crashes into him, and falls with Ken into the gorge*

Tai: *runs in* (panting) Has anyone seen that perv, Takaishi?

Yolei: Nope, haven't seen him all day.

Gaia: Ditto.

Tai: Thanks anyway. *exits*

Yolei: (calling down into the gorge) Okay, T. K., coast's clear…T. K.?

Gaia: Uh, Yolei, might want to fetch Aquilamon.  We didn't exactly have time to put in the safety net before we started shooting.

Chapter 14

(Ken tries to unite with the Emperor)

Ken: *lunges at the Emperor*

Emperor: *sidesteps and lets Ken fall to the ground*

Gaia: Ke—er, Emperor!

Emperor: What? This is part of my—

Gaia: Character.  I know, but think of it this way: the sooner you unite with Ken, the sooner you can get the heck out of this story.

Emperor and Ken: (eyes lighting up) I'm all for that!

-Take 2

Ken: Now I know what to do to make sure you don't come back. *catches him in a tight embrace*

Emperor: What? Hug me to death?

Gaia: Cut! What did I say about ending this story?

Emperor: Sorry, it slipped.

***

(after the story's finished)

*Kari and Yolei walk down the hall and stop in front of a broom closet*

Kari: You know, I wonder what ever happened to that perverted old man.

Yolei: Dunno.  Good riddance I say.

Master Roshi: *pops out of broom closet* Hello, ladies!

Kari and Yolei: *scream*

Tai: *walks in* Hey, you!  Gwen told me that there was a pervert running around who took those pictures instead of T. K.  That must be you! Sic him, Wargreymon!

Wargreymon: *crashes in and starts chasing Master Roshi*

Master Roshi: Wait! It really wasn't me!

G: (standing in the shadows) Aw, you ruined all my fun, Gwen.  
Gwen: (standing next to her) Well how else were we supposed to end these stupid out-takes?

G: *shrugs* Dunno.  That's Gaia's job.

Gaia: *walks up from behind* Oh really?  And why do you suppose I hired you two?

G: Comic relief?

Gaia: Besides that.

Gwen: To check your grammar?

Gaia: Besides that too?

Gwen and G: …

Gaia: To give me inspiration! Now inspire me as to how to end this thing.

Gwen: Uh, Gaia.

Gaia: What?

Gwen: I just ended it for you.  All you have to do is say, "The End."

Gaia: Oh, ok. The End.


End file.
